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Mexico   has   found   her   master  at   last." 

Fn  mtispiece.   I  See  Page  59. 1 


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ITURBIDE 

A    SOLDIER    OF    MEXICO 


BY 

JOHN  LEWIN  McLEISH,  A.M.,  M.D. 


THE 

Bbbcy  press 

PUBLISHERS 

114 

FIFTH   AVENUE 

Xonfcon  NEW  YORK  Montreal 


Copyright,  1898, 

by 

JOHN  LEWIN  McLEISH. 


95 


TO 
HIS  EXCELLENCY 

SENOR  PORFIRIO  DIAZ, 

PRESIDENT    OF   THE    REPUBLIC    OF    MEXICO, 
THE    AUTHOR    DEDICATES 

"  ITURBIDE  " 

AS   A   TOKEN    OF   APPRECIATION 

OF  THE    MANY   COURTESIES    SHOWN    HIS    FATHER, 

THE    LATE    DR.   JOHN    McLEISH 

OF   SABINAL,    CHIHUAHUA,    MEXICO, 

BY   THE 

MEXICAN    GOVERNMENT 

DURING   THE   YEARS    1S9O-1896. 

J.  L.  McLEISH,  M.D. 

Cincinnati,  O.,  January  1st,  1900. 


MG79750 


AUTHORITIES  ON  THE  PERIOD. 

{Consulted for  "  Iturbide") 

Lorenzo  de  Zavala:  "  Ensayo  Historico  de  las  Revoluciones 
de  Mejico." 

Pablo  Mendivil :  "  Historia  de  Mejico." 

Carlos  Bustamente :    "  Cuadro  Historico." 

Agustino  d'lturbide  :  "  Ensayo  o  breves  Memorias." 

Madame  Calderon  de  la  Barca :  "  Life  in  Mexico." 

Nicholas  Mill,  Esq. :  "  History  of  Mexico."     (London,  1824.) 

Philip  Young  :"  Mexico."     (1847.) 

John  Frost :  "  Pictorial  Mexico." 

William  D.  Robinson  :  "  Memoirs  of  the  Mexican  Revolu- 
tion." 

Abbe  Clavigero  :  "  History  of  Mexico." 

Blackwood's  Magazine  (1824):  An  Account  of  the  Mexican 
Revolution,  Viator. 

University  Magazine,  N.  Y.,  Feb.-March,  1894 :  Mexican  In- 
dependence, J.  L.  McLeish. 

J.  M.  L.  Mora:  Mejico  y  sus  Revoluciones.     (Paris,  1836.) 

Brantz  Mayer :  Mexico  Aztec,  Spanish  and  Republican. 

A.  R.  Thummel :  Mexico  und  die  Mexicaner.  (Erlangen, 
1848.) 


iv  Authorities  on  the  Period. 

J.  R.  Foinsett,  Esq.  :  Notes  on  Mexico. 

St  Basch,  M.  D. :  Recuerdos  de  Mexico. 

Manuel  Fayno :  El  Libro  Rojo.     (Mexico,  1870.) 

F.  C.  Gooch  ;  Face  to  Face  with  the  Mexicans. 

R.  A.  Wilson  :  Mexico  and  its  Religion. 

Dr.   Lempriere:  "Mexico." 

W.  E.  Curtis  :  "  The  Capitols  of  Spanish  America." 

A.  M.  Gilliam  ;  Tablelands  and  Cordilleras  of  Mexico. 

Col.   G.   S.    Church :    Historical    and    Political    Review    of 

Mexico. 
M.  Chevalier:  Mexico,  Ancient  and  Modern. 
William    Butler,    D.D. :    Mexico    in    Transition    from    the 

Power  of  Political    Romanism   to    Civil   and   Religious 

Liberty. 


DRAMATIS  PERSON/E 


General  Agustin  de  Iturbide,  afterwards  Emperor  of  Mexico. 
General  Antonio  Lopez   de   Santa  Anna.     A  Gentleman  of 

Vera  Cruz. 
His  Excellency  Don  Juan  Apodaca,  Viceroy  of  Mexico. 
Captain  la  Garza,  an  Old-young  Man. 
Rafael  Aristo,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
Captain  Berdejo,  of  the  "Viceroy's  Own." 
His  Eminence  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico. 
An  Innkeeper. 
A  Jailer. 
Juana  la  Garza. 
Dahalia  Santa  Anna. 
Madame  de  Iturbide. 

Mother  Superior  of  the  Convent  of  Santa  Teresa. 
Felicie. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Viceroy's  Court. 

Officers,  Troopers,  Priests,  Nuns,  etc 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1.  Mexico  has  found  her  master  at  last Frontispiece. 

T.  Lunt. 

PAGE 

2.  Don  Augustino  de  Iturbide T.  Victor  Hall.     18 

3.  She  was  accredited  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  Mex- 

ico  A.  E.  Krehbiel.     26 

4.  The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  flung  wide  the   door  and 

looked   at   the    wretched   man  who   stood   there, 
silent,  grim  and  sorrowful T.  Victor  Hall.     62 

5.  A  man  and  a  woman  lay,  manacled  to  the  floor 82 

T.  Victor  Hall. 

6.  "  Open  the  secret  panel  of  the  Viceroys,"  replied  the 

priest T.  Victor  Hall.   1 24 

7.  Slowly  the  soldiers  of  the  Blues  retreated  before  the 

determined  onset  of  Santa  Anna.     Etc 148 

T.  Victor  Hall. 


Cover  design  by  T.  Victor  Hall. 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE. 


One  day  in  the  early  nineties,  the  author  was  wandering 
through  the  stone  paved,  gloomy  corridors  of  the  Imperial 
Palace  of  Iturbide,  and  in  a  moment  was  born  the  germ  of 
the  story  which  has  wrought  itself  out  in  "  A  Soldier  of 
Mexico."  The  setting  was  drawn  from  ever  present,  loved 
memories  of  days  and  nights  spent  in  the  mountains  of  the 
interior  and  picturesque  camp  life  on  the  endless  stretch  of 
chaparral  covered  desert.  As  these  pages  were  penned,  a 
vivid  mind  picture  of  the  old  world  city  in  the  New — Tenoch- 
titlan — with  its  massive  palaces  and  crumbling  convents,  was 
born  again,  a  reminder  of  the  days  when  fanatic  priests, 
haughty  viceroys,  beautiful  women,  ardent  lovers  and  dashing 
soldiers,  played  their  parts  upon  the  stage  of  Mexican  history 
with  that  dramatic  intensity  which  has  ever  characterized  the 
children  of  the  southland.  The  Latin  races  are  essentially 
neurastheniacs.  Like  the  French  and  Spaniards,  the  Mexicans 
are  emotional  to  a  degree  that  at  times  borders  on  the 
hysterical.  It  is  theirs  to  love  and  hate  with  a  depth  possible 
only  in  so  peculiarly  constituted  a  people. 

The  author  has  endeavored  to  tell  the  story  of  "  Iturbide  " 
as  a  Mexican  would  tell  it,  and  a  story  so  told  necessitates, 
perforce  at  times,  a  melodramatic  rapidity  of  action  and  ultra 
intensity  of  the  element  of  passion,  consistent  with  the  people 
and  the  setting. 

J.  L.  M. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Historical  Preface 15 

I.  For  Love  of  a  Woman 21 

II.  Juana  la  Garza 26 

III.  A  Mason  at  Sight 36 

IV.  The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy 41 

V.  The  Million-Dollar  Convoy  of  the  Viceroy 50 

VI.  The  Bedchamber  of  Juana  la  Garza 61 

VII.  The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna 68 

VIII.  The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa 80 

IX.  For  the  Good  of  the  Church  of  Rome 95 

X.  The  Conversion  of  a  Woman-hater 105 

XL  The  Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna 117 

XII.  The  Compliments  of  the  Emperor  Iturbide 135 

Epilogue 155 


HISTORICAL  PREFACE. 

(From  the  thesis,  "The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  First 
Empire  in  Mexico,"  submitted  by  the  author  to  the 
trustees  of  Princeton  University,  for  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts,  conferred  in  June  1S97.) 

THERE  are  some  chapters  in  Mexican  history 
as  yet  unwritten.  While  there  exist,  it  is  true, 
many  voluminous  tomes,  by  such  historians  as 
Zarate,  Bustamente,  Zavala  and  others  dealing 
with  different  epochs,  in  the  story  of  the 
Southern  Republic, — they  are  unreliable  on 
account  of  prejudice  and  partiality.  One 
must  discriminate  and  combine  in  order  to 
gain  from  their  writings  any  concept  approach- 
ing the  truth. 

The  story  of  the  Mexican  people  is  a 
strangely  pathetic  one.  It  is  the  story  of  four 
centuries  of  struggle  and  revolution — the 
vacillating,  fickle  history  of  all  Latin  races. 
The  first  three  hundred  years  of  Mexican 
history  can  be  read  in  the  life  stories  of  sixty- 
two  Spanish  Viceroys. 

During  those  years,  when  the  power  of 
Spain  was  tottering  to  its  downfall, — when  the 
breaking  of  the  Catholic  coalition  dealt  a  ter- 
rific blow  to  her  old  world  resources,  Spain 
endeavored     to    recuperate    her    energy,    by 

*5 


16  Historical  Preface. 

having  recourse  to  the  yet  undeveloped  riches 
of  the  New  Spain — Mexico. 

The  firm,  iron  hand  of  Spanish  Viceroy 
rule  fell  heavy  on  the  Mexican  people,  and  the 
whole  period  of  Spanish  Viceroy  administra- 
tion is  marked  by  revolution  after  revolution. 

The  time  for  Independence  was  not  yet  rife 
however.  A  native  historian  writing  of  the 
latter  days  of  Viceroy  rule  says  : 

"  The  condition  of  the  people  was  a  species 
of  slavery,  a  necessary  consequence  of  their 
condition, — of  the  ignorance  in  which  they 
were  maintained,  of  the  terror  which  the 
authorities  inspired  by  their  military  forces,  of 
despotism  and  its  attendant  evils,  and  more 
than  all  of  the  Inquisition,  sustained  by  mili- 
tary force  and  by  the  religious  superstition  of 
the  clergy  and  rabid  fanatics  without  methods 
of  instruction.  No  useful  truth,  no  principle, 
no  maxim  capable  of  inspiring  noble  or  gen- 
erous sentiments,  were  heard  in  the  Jesuit 
schools.  Three  fourths  of  the  population 
were  indigent,  without  property,  with  no  kind 
of  occupation,  without  ever  the  hope  of  some 
day  acquiring  one — peopling  the  haciendas, 
ranches  and  mines  of  the  wealthy  proprietors." 

As  in  Spain,  where  the  whole  power  and 
political  policy  was  subject  to  Church  dictation, 
so  in  Mexico, — Mother  Church  ruled  supreme. 
As  the  power  of  the  clergy  began  to  wane  in 
the  Old  World,  so  gradually  it  endeavored  to 


Historical  Preface.  17 

regain  its  lost  ascendancy  in  the  New.  Step 
by  step  priestcraft  extended  its  sway  over 
Mexico,  and  her  Viceroys.  To-day  one  can 
find  on  every  side,  reminiscences  of  the  In- 
quisition and  its  despotic  rule  in  Mexico. 

It  is  with  pleasure  one  turns  from  the  period 
of  Viceroy  rule  to  the  new  order  of  things 
generated  with  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  sixteenth  of  September,  1810,  is 
a  day  as  sacred  to  the  Mexican  heart  as  our 
own  Fourth  of  July  to  us.  It  marks  the  first 
blow  in  behalf  of  Mexican  Independence, — it 
marks  the  rising  of  a  suffering  and  oppressed 
people  against  the  grim,  tyrannical  power  of 
old  Spain — it  marks  the  inchoation  of  a  series 
of  revolutions  and  uprisings  which  finally  cul- 
minated in  giving  Mexico  freedom  from  priest- 
craft and  the  old  world  Suzerainty  of  the 
Spanish  Bourbons. 

The  proto-martyrs  of  Mexican  Independence 
— Hidalgo,  Allende,  Aldama,  Jimenez,  Rayon, 
and  Matamoras, — fell  fighting  for  the  cause  in 
which  they  had  taken  up  the  sword. 

For  years  and  years  the  struggle  went  on, 
conducted  by  such  men  as  Santa  Anna, 
Guerrero,  Guadalupe  Victoria,  and  Bravo.  For 
the  Spaniards  found  it  a  hopeless  task  to  crush 
the  partisans  of  Liberty.  Men  had  suddenly 
been  awakened  and  roused  to  action  by  the 
intrepid  warrior  Hidalgo.  They  longed  for 
the  glorious  prize  for  which  he  had  laid  down 
his  life. 

There  now   arose    a    central  figure    in  the 


1 8  Historical  Preface. 

struggle  for  Independence — a  man  endowed 
with  unbounded  ambition  and  unquestioned 
ability.  His  life  history  reads  like  a  romance 
and  is  full  of  interest  and  incident.  His  career 
was  as  strange  and  brilliant  as  that  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  Its  ending  was  as  pathetic.  Says 
the  historian  Zavala  : 

"  Don  Agustin  de  Iturbide,  Colonel  of  a 
battalion  of  provincial  troops,  a  native  of  Valla- 
dolid,  was  endowed  with  brilliant  attainments 
and  amongst  other  qualities  of  valor  and  activity 
out  of  the  ordinary.  Of  average  physique,  he 
possessed  the  fortitude  and  endurance  neces- 
sary for  undergoing  the  greatest  hardships  of 
campaigning,  and  ten  years  of  this  continued 
exercise  had  strengthened  his  natural  endur- 
ance. He  had  an  active  and  self-assertive 
character  and  had  observed  that  to  remain  in 
favor  with  the  authorities  it  was  necessary  to 
be  at  a  safe  distance  from  those  who  could 
command  him.  It  is  indisputable  that  Itur- 
bide was  possessed  of  a  superior  intellect  and 
that  his  ambition  was  founded  on  that  high 
resolve  which  depreciates  dangers  #and  which 
no  obstacles  can  restrain.  He  had  familiarized 
himself  with  danger  in  battle.  He  had  recog- 
nized the  power  of  the  Spanish  arms  and  he 
was  competent  to  measure*  the*  capacity  of 
chiefs  of  both  parties.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  he  did  not  deceive  himself  in  the  estimate 
which  he  formed  of  them  all.  He  possessed 
the  consciousness  of  his  own  superiority,  and 
with  this  assurance  he  did  not  hesitate  to  place 


Don  Augustino  de   Iturbide. 


Page  1 8. 


Historical  Preface.  19 

himself  at  the  head  of  a  National  party  wait- 
ing only  to  gain  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen." 

Such  is  Zavala's  estimate  of  Iturbide — 
the  consummator  of  the  great  task  begun  by 
Hidalgo. 

Truly  no  ordinary  man  was  Agustin  de  Itur- 
bide. With  no  little  interest  he  had  watched 
the  movements  of  the  insurgent  chiefs — 
Santa  Anna  and  the  rest.  He  began  to  reflect. 
Spain  was  undeniably  losing  her  hold  upon 
Mexico.  A  change  was  imminent.  Iturbide 
was  a  far-seeing  man.  He  craved  honor — 
military  emolument — distinction.  Spain,  torn 
by  internecine  strife,  trembling  on  the  verge 
of  a  precipice  could  not  for  long  maintain 
her  foothold  in  Mexico.  To  satisfy  his  am- 
bition, he  must  look  elsewhere.  For  some 
years  Iturbide  had  been  formulating  a  plan  of 
action  which  was  to  overthrow  forever  Spanish 
rule  in  Mexico.  Astute  and  clever  he  simply 
bided  his  time — attaching  to  himself  by  a 
series  of  intrigues,  men  of  all  parties — eccle- 
siastical, military  and  political.  When  one 
considers  his  colossal  undertaking,  admira- 
tion gives  way  to  surprise.  His  countrymen 
longed  for  Independence,  and  he  made  that 
the  fundamental  feature  of  his  plan  which  he 
denominated  Las  Tres  Garantias.  To  express 
his  intentions  he  assumed  the  word  Union.  To 
conciliate  the  all-powerful  clergy,  he  added  Re- 
ligion.    To  gain  the  sympathy  of  the  people  at 


20  Historical  Preface. 

large,  he  chose  the  appellation,  Independence. 
His  idea  was  to  overthrow  forever  Viceroy  rule 
in  Mexico  and  to  create  a  home  dynasty. 

One  man  more  than  any  other  in  Mexico 
could  aid  him  in  his  design,  General  Antonio 
Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  a  wealthy  young  gentle- 
man of  Cruz  Vera,  and  an  intrepid  soldier. 

Iturbide  met  Santa  Anna,  and  meeting  him 
found  the  man  whose  sword  was  to  lead  him 
to  a  throne  and  whose  voice  was  to  be  the  first 
to  cry  that  grito  which  meant  the  downfall  of 
that  New  World  Empire  for  which  both  had 
battled  against  the  picked  forces  of  Spain. 

And  of  that  the  story. 

The  Author. 


ITURBIDE,  A  SOLDIER  OF 
MEXICO 


CHAPTER  I. 

FOR  LOVE  OF  A  WOMAN. 

It  was  a  beautiful  evening  of  February,  1821. 
Through  the  shaded  plaza  of  the  City  of  Mexico, 
near  the  grand  Cathedral,  a  train  of  placid- 
faced,  peaceful  looking  burros  laden  with  great 
pulque-filled  pigskins  were  trotting  at  a  lei- 
surely pace  towards  the  southern  barrier  of  the 
Capitol. 

Lounging  in  the  few  pidquerias  of  the  plaza, 
scarlet  clad,  dashing  troopers  and  green-jacketed 
chasseurs  embraced  and  quaffed  their  wine  with 
many  an  oath  as  soldiers  love  to  do. 

In  the  great  square,  hibuscus,  orchids  and 
dahlias  peeped  out  from  the  cacti  and  yucca. 

It  was  the  hour  of  the  Angelus.  Troopers 
and  chasseurs  stood  immobile,  with  bared 
heads  and  uplifted  glasses.  The  old  fruit- 
woman,  at  the  door  of  the  Cathedral,  fell  upon 
her  knees  beside  her  pomegranate  stand  and 
crossed    herself    repeatedly,    while    her    lips 

21 


22      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico.         ! 

moved  in  prayer.  But  if  the  hands  and  lips 
of  the  old  fruit-woman  were  occupied  with  her 
rosary,  her  eyes  were  not.  She  looked  with 
horror  upon  a  tall  and  slender  gentleman,  of  a 
military  bearing,  despite  the  long  black  manto 
completely  enveloping  his  uniform — she  looked 
with  horror  upon  this  gentleman  who  walked 
calmly  down  the  plaza  at  the  hour  of  the 
Angelus,  with  his  sombrero  upon  his  head. 
"  An  accursed  heretic,"  she  thought,  and  con- 
tinued her  prayer  to  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

The  stranger  took  his  stand  near  one  of  the 
great  towers  of  the  Cathedral  and  drawing  his 
manto  the  more  closely  around  him,  became 
almost  as  immobile  as  one  of  the  statues  of 
the  Saints  in  the  niches  above  him, 

From  the  great  doors  of  the  Cathedral,  the 
throng  of  worshipers  began  to  come  out,  singly 
and  in  pairs.  They  were  mostly  women. 
Those  of  the  better  classes  had  their  faces 
coquettishly  hidden  in  their  silk  rebosas. 

Among  the  last  to  issue  forth  was  a  slender, 
graceful  young  woman,  clad  in  black,  her 
features  entirely  concealed  by  a  dainty  silk 
rebosa.     In  her  hand  she  carried  a  prayer-book. 

The  man  in  the  black  manto  took  a  forward 
step,  and  with  the  graceful  bow  of  a  gallant, 
swept  the  ground  with  his  sombrero. 

"  Dahalia,"  he  murmured  softly. 

The  girl  shrank  back  against  one  of  the  great 
columns  and  turned  upon  him  a  white  pitiful, 
tear-stained  face  in  which  love  and  fear  were 
both  expressed. 


For  Love  of  a  Woman.  23 

"  Dios,  how  beautiful  you  are !  "  murmured 
the  man  passionately.     And  then  more  softly. 

"  Dahalia,  can  you  forgive  me  for  seeking  you 
despite  my  promise  ?  You  are  indispensable 
to  me — you  have  become  a  veriest  part  of  my- 
self— give  me  once  more  the  assurance  of  your 
love  and  I  will  aid  your  brother  in  his  struggle 
for  Mexican  liberty — yes,  and  here  in  the 
shadow  of  the  Cathedral,  I  swear  to  you  that  I 
will  take  up  my  sword  in  the  same  cause.  For 
your  love  I  will  forget  that  I  ever  swore  alle- 
giance to  the  Royalist  cause,  forget  that  I 
am  Colonel  of  a  regiment  baptized  with  the 
blood  of  your  countrymen  and  mine  ;  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life  will  I  forswear  my- 
self  " 

The  girl  shook  her  head  and  the  man  con- 
tinued more  earnestly  : — 

"  Ah,  do  not  turn  from  me,  dear  one.  I  have 
periled  my  liberty,  perhaps  my  life,  in  coming 
here.  And  all  for  love  of  you,  my  darling, — 
all  for  love  of  you.  I  fancy  His  Excellency 
the  Viceroy  would  not  take  it  lightly  that  the 
Colonel  of  a  Royal  Regiment  conversed  with 
the  sister  of  one  of  the  proscribed " 

"  With  the  sister  of  Santa  Anna, — a  man  who 
is  as  much  a  patriot  as  you  are  a  tyrant.  Ah, 
no,  Colonel  Iturbide,  you  do  well  to  remind 
me  of  the  difference  in  our  stations.  And  I 
will  no  longer  peril  the  precious  life  of  the 
butcher  of  my  people.  Draw  not  your  sword 
for  our  cause  but  keep  it  for  the  service  of  His 
Excellency.      Adios,  senor    Colonel    Iturbide. 


24      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

It  is  far,  far  better  that  we  part,  and  far  better 
would  it  have  been  had  we  never  met." 

And  she  drew  her  rebosa  more  closely  around 
her,  turning  from  him. 

But  he  caught  her  slender  wrist  and  said 
hurriedly,  passionately, 

"  Ah,  Dahalia, — you  are  cruel — my  nina. 
When  you  came  to  the  Court  of  the  Viceroy 
in  the  suite  of  the  Lady  La  Garza,  I  saw  you 
and  I  loved  you.     You  repulsed  me." 

"  Si,  seiior  Colonel.  Because  a  sister  of  the 
rebel  Santa  Anna  could  only  bring  ruin  upon 
the  favorite  of  the  Viceroy.  Had  you  not  been 
a  persecutor  of  my  people — of  my  Mexico — 
then — perhaps — but  no.  It  could  not  be.  I 
came  to  the  Viceroy's  court  upon  a  secret  mis- 
sion,— a  mission  of  death." 

"  Of  death?"  gasped  the  man  in  black. 

"  Ah  si — to  strike  you  down  in  the  salon  of 
His  Excellency  and  avenge,  with  one  quick 
stroke  of  the  stiletto,  my  poor  countrymen — 
slaughtered  by  your  troops — to  avenge  Hidal- 
go and  his  little  band  of  consecrated  patriots — 
to  enable  my  dear  brother  to  uprear  the  red, 
white  and  green  banner  of  the  Mexicans,  over 
that  accursed  emblem — the  banner  of  old  Spain, 
— the  blood-reddened  flag  of  the  Bourbons. 
But  I  was  only  a  simple  girl — a  nina,  seiior, — 
and  I — I  could  not  help  loving  you,  and " 

"  Ah,  Dahalia, — my  chiquita 

And  he  would  have  caught  her  in  his  arms, 
but  she  waved  him  back  gently. 

"  Your  promise  !  "  she  murmured. 


For  Love  of  a  Woman.  25 

"  Dahalia — when  I  promised  to  remain  away 
from  your  presence  until  you  yourself  should 
tell  me  to  return,  I  did  not  realize  what  I  was 
doing.  Ah,  chiquita — my  love  for  you  is  greater 
than  my  pride.  It  is  killing  me.  To-night  I 
could  bear  the  agony  of  separation  no  longer. 
And  even  at  the  cost  of  the  Viceroy's  dis- 
pleasure, I  have  come  to  you  again." 

"  You  were  wrong,  Colonel  mine,"  murmured 
the  girl  reproachfully.  "  When  the  lady  Juana 
La  Garza  denounced  me  before  the  Viceroy 
as  the  sister  of  the  rebel  Santa  Anna  and  forced 
me  to  flee  the  Vice-regal  Palace  and  hide  a  ref- 
ugee in  the  purlieus  of  the  Capitol,  it  was  not 
prudent  for  a  man  so  well  known  as  the  trusted 
officer  of  His  Excellency  to " 

"  But  a  trusted  officer  of  His  Excellency's 
no  longer,"  broke  in  her  companion.  "  For  love 
of  a  woman,  Iturbide  perjures  himself  and  be- 
trays the  trust  of  the  Bourbons." 

"And  for  love  of  a  woman,  Santa  Anna 
walks  into  the  spider's  web,"  broke  in  a  calm, 
half  sneering  voice. 

The  girl  turned  quickly  with  a  half  audible 
cry. 

"  Ay  de  mi — my  brother — and  in  the  Capitol 
— this  is  madness  indeed." 

Then  fell  fainting  into  the  arms  of  the  new- 
comer. 


26      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 
CHAPTER  II. 

JUANA   LA   GARZA. 

She  was  a  wee  little  thing,  with  a  wealth  of 
wavy,  golden  hair  and  great  blue  eyes,  lips 
cherry  red  and  voluptuous,  hands  slender  and 
delicate,  laden  with  costly  jewels.  From  under 
her  rich,  satin  skirts  peeped  out  a  dainty 
slipper,  indicating  an  attractive  little  foot. 

She  was  accredited  the  most  beautiful 
woman  in  Mexico,  but  there  was  a  hardness 
about  her  mouth — the  satanic  hardness  of  a 
wiler  of  men — and  at  times  from  those  pretty 
blue  eyes  shot  a  steely  glint  that  bespoke 
either  much  passion  or  much  wickedness. 
Quien  sabe  ? 

On  this  February  evening  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza,  reclined  lazily  upon  a  divan  in  her 
richly  furnished  boudoir,  at  Casa  Garza.  A 
sort  of  feline  smile  played  upon  her  pretty 
red  lips  and  she  presented  a  picture  of  delici- 
ous abandon  in  her  delicate  evening  dress. 

From  an  adjoining  apartment  came  the 
sweet  strains  of  the  Palace  band. 

For  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  entertained 
this  evening  in  honor  of  His  Excellency,  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  Don  Juan  Apodaca,  and 
she  waited  only  the  first  notes  of  the  Hymno 


She  was  accredited  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  Mexico. 

Page  26. 


Juana  La  Garza.  27 

Nacional,     which    should    apprise    her    of   his 
arrival  to  descend  to  the  grand  salon. 

The  furnishings  of  the  boudoir,  were  just 
such  as  to  form  the  ideal  setting  for  a  pretty 
woman.  The  floors  were  of  glazed  tiles,  the 
tapestries  red,  with  the  upholstering  of  the 
furniture  to  match.  A  few  rosewood  settees, 
a  large  centre  table  of  pietra  dura,  an  iron  bed- 
stead with  a  great  canopy,  a  dainty  Venetian 
mirror,  which  reflected  the  beautiful  image  of 
the  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  more  times  than  one, 
during  the  day. 

As  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  dreamily  watched 
the  curling  ring  that  rose  in  a  haze  of  blue, 
from  her  cigarette,  her  face  took  on  a  gentler, 
softer  look,  as  of  a  woman  who  dreams  of  the 
man  she  loves.  Her  lips  half  parted  in  a 
smile  of  sweet  content,  her  eyes  staring  into 
the  faraway  of  imagery, — it  seemed  as  though 
an  angel  from  on  high  had  descended  for  the 
briefest  space  to  earth,  so  beautiful  was  she. 

Felicie  the  maid  entered  softly. 

The  lady  half  raised  herself  upon  her  arm. 

"Ah — seflora — how  shall  I  tell  you  ?  How 
shall  I  say  it  ?  " 

And  the  maid  began  to  sob  violently,  rocking 
her  form  to  and  fro.  The  lady  Juana  la  Garza 
sprang  from  the  divan.  Her  brow  contracted 
into  a  frown,  her  eyes  assumed  a  steely  glint 
of  anger,  her  mouth  hardened  almost  imper- 
ceptibly. She  seized  the  girl  roughly  by  the 
arm. 

"  Speak  out,  you  fool,  and  stand  not  there 


28      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

like  one  distraught.  Come,  tell  me,  what  is  it 
that  frightens  you  ?  " 

Still  trembling,  the  affrighted  maid  muttered 
between  her  sobs. 

"  Alas,  senora,  we  arc  lost,  we  are  lost. 
Rafael  Aristo  has  secured  from  the  Viceroy 
your  husband's  pardon.  He  will  be  here  to- 
night." 

11  To-night  ? — My  husband  will  be  here  to- 
night?— Impossible,"  gasped  the  lady  Juana 
la  Garza,  sinking  again  upon  the  divan,  her 
face  as  colorless  as  marble,  her  form  shaken 
by  the  violence  of  her  passion,  her  lips  quiver- 
ing with  anger  unrestrained. 

"  I  swear  it  by  the  Virgin, — it  is  the  truth, 
senora.  I  had  it  from  the  priest,  Rafael 
Aristo,  who  has  but  just  come  from  the  Govern- 
ment Palace,"  pursued    the  maid. 

"  Rafael  Aristo — that  devil,"  murmured  the 
lady  Juana  la  Garza  softly  to  herself,  and  her 
eyes  seemed  to  focus  in  a  scintillating  glitter 
of  hate.  "  So  the  Head  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  betrays  the  Agent  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  And  it  is  this  man  who  came  between 
my  husband  and  I,  and  broke  up  our  home 
for  the  good  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  is 
this  man  that  transformed  the  innocent  little 
convent  maid  into  the  woman  of  the  world, 
that  she  might  hold  the  Viceroy  in  the  glamour 
of  her  fascination  and  guide  the  destinies  of 
Mexico  as  the  Church  demanded.  And  now, 
this  Head  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  has  no  more 
use  for  the  woman  whose  life  he  ruined  and 


Juana  La  Garza.  29 

takes  this  means  of  disposing  of  her,  by  setting 
free  the  dishonored  husband  whose  home- 
coming means  retribution."  Then  glancing  at 
Felicie,  the  lady  said  aloud  : — 

"And  Rafael  Aristo — the  priest — you  say 
he  is  here  ?  " 

"  In  the  private  passageway,"  responded  the 
girl. 

"  Bid  him  come  to  me  at  once,"  imperiously 
continued  her  mistress ;  and  her  face  again 
assumed  a  look  of  anguish  she  could  not  re- 
strain. The  maid  quickly  left  the  room.  The 
lady  Juana  la  Garza  buried  her  face  in  her 
hands. 

"  I  am  lost  indeed,"  she  sobbed  ;  "  lost,  lost, 
lost." 

"  Not  lost,  my  daughter,  not  lost,  for  the 
Holy  Church  will  save  you,"  broke  in  the  deep, 
musical  voice  of  the  Head  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus. 

She  looked  up.  Before  her  stood  Rafael 
Aristo,  a  short,  squat,  smooth-shaven  man,  his 
face,  sombre,  sallow,  forbidding, — his  stumpy 
body  inclined  gently  forward,  and  a  great 
horny  finger  raised  in  warning  to  his  thick 
lips  while  his  great,  glittering  black,  hypnotic 
eyes,  fat  encircled,  rested  significantly  upon 
Felicie. 

"  Leave  us,  Felicie,"  said  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza.  The  maid  cast  a  look  of  intense  dis- 
like upon  the  forbidding  figure  in  gorgeous 
robes  and  mitre,  and  slowly,  reluctantly  left 
the  room.      The   priest  advanced  nearer  the 


30      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

lady  Juana  la  Garza  and  allowed  his  hypnotic 
eyes  to  rest  for  a  long  time  upon  her  face 
until  she  trembled  at  the  fiery  intensity  of  the 
gaze  and  became  once  more  the  submissive 
daughter  of  the  Church.  Finally  he  spoke, 
and  his  voice  was  very  soft  and  low  : 

"  Courage,  my  daughter,  courage,"  he  said, 
"  the  Church  guards  its  own.  For  the  Church 
you  left  the  arms  of  a  husband  who  loved  you 
to  become  the  mistress  of  the  Viceroy.  The 
Church  protected  you  then,  and  this  trusting, 
accommodating  husband  was  given  over  to  the 
Inquisitors  of  the  Church  as  a  rebel.  You  are 
the  only  woman  in  Mexico  who  can  sway  these 
intriguing  diplomats  and  hardened  soldiers  in 
the  desperate  game  now  playing.  It  is  a  life 
struggle  between  Church  and  State,  between 
Royalist  and  Patriot,  between  the  Society  of 
Jesus  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Freemasons. 
Three  men  have  appeared  upon  the  stage  of 
Mexican  politics — His  Excellency  the  Viceroy, 
who  to-day  rules  serenely  over  Mexico,  by  the 
grace  of  God  and  the  favor  of  the  Bourbons, 
the  rebel  General,  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa 
Anna,  who  has  at  his  back  the  Scottish  Rite 
and  the  York  Rite,  the  most  powerful  of  the 
Masonic  bodies  in  Mexico,  and  last  our  own 
Agustin  de  Iturbide,  a  great  soldier  but  a 
young  man  of  such  boundless  ambition  that, 
while  he  is  to-day  for  us,  may  be  to-morrow 
against  us.  One  of  these  three  men  must  rule 
supreme.  Two  must  fall.  No  secrets  are  hid- 
den   from    the  Society  of  Jesus.     Our   agents 


Juana  La  Garza.  31 

are  everywhere.  I  know  that  Santa  Anna  is  in 
hiding  in  the  Capitol,  that  he  ventured  into 
this  spider's  web,  for  two  things  :  the  assassina- 
tion of  his  great  rival,  Colonel  Agustin  de  Itur- 
bide  and  a  night  of  love  with  the  woman  who 
is  dearer  to  him  than  life  itself,  the  lady  Juana 
la  Garza. 

"  What  more  fitting  than  the  opportune  re- 
turn of  a  loving  husband,  to  find  the  wife  from 
whom  he  was  rudely  torn  asunder,  in  the  arms 
of  the  rebel  General  ?  Think  you  not,  my  lady, 
his  long  months  of  imprisonment  in  the  deepest 
dungeon  of  the  Acordade,  will  not  nerve  his 
arm  for  vengeance  ?  Think  you  Santa  Anna 
will  ever  leave  your  apartments  alive  ?  " 

"  Ah,  monster  !  you  have  betrayed  me," 
gasped  the  lady,  sinking  back  half  fainting 
upon  the  divan. 

"  I  have  saved  you,"  calmly  retorted  the 
priest.  "  When  General  Santa  Anna  has  been 
done  to  the  death,  I  shall  see  to  it  that  you  are 
freed  from  the  hated  caresses  of  the  Viceroy. 
Nay  more,  I  will  save  you  from  your  husband. 
Only  play  your  part  well.  You  alone  know 
under  what  disguise  the  rebel  General  Santa 
Anna  will  pass  the  guards  of  the  Viceroy. 
You  alone  can  deliver  to  us  this  greatest 
enemy  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Give  him  but 
one  remotest  word  of  warning  that  will  en- 
able him  to  escape  us  and  I  swear,  as  I  am 
a  true  Churchman,  that  you  shall  suffer  a 
fate  worse  than  hell  itself  can  give  you.  I 
have  spoken  and  I  think  you  understand." 


32      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  But  I  love  him — my  God  !  I  love  him  !  " 
sobbed  the  unhappy  woman  hoarsely.  "  And 
you  ask  me  to  lure  him  to  his  death." 

"  Bah  !  "  retorted  the  priest  with  a  vicious 
sneer,  "  you  love  him  as  you  have  loved  other 
men — as  once  you  loved  your  husband,  the 
gallant  Captain  la  Garza — as  you  once  loved 
His  Excellency — as  you  once  loved  Colonel 
Iturbide.  Such  love  is  the  love  of  a  woman 
who  will  pass  into  history  as  every  man's  wife." 

"  There  spoke  the  Jesuit,"  sobbed  the  lady 
la  Garza.  "  Teaching  me  in  your  convent  that 
the  end  justified  the  means,  deadening  my 
young  conscience  by  your  poisonous  sophis- 
tries, you  have  made  a  play  of  my  beauty  to 
lure  to  destruction  the  men  who  stood  in  the 
pathway  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Oh,  I  am 
awearied  of  it  all — I  am  awearied  of  it  all.  But 
I  am  not  wholly  bad  nor  as  wicked  as  you 
would  make  me,  and  I  refuse  to  betray  the  one 
man  I  have  loved  with  a  sincere  affection — the 
only  honest  passion  of  my  life — even  for  the 
Church  of  Rome,  to  which  I  gave  all  that  any 
woman  can  give  when  I  sacrificed  mine  honor." 

The  priest,  Rafael  Aristo,  fixed  upon  her  a 
stern,  angry  look  and  raised  his  arm  impress- 
ively. But  his  voice  was  calm  and  he  was  in 
everything    the    priest — perfect  in  self-control. 

"  Listen,  my  lady,  you  do  not  know  me  yet. 
I  have  an  old  mother  down  in  the  provinces  of 
the  Southland — an  old  mother  who  lives  for  me 
alone  and  whose  love  is  the  one  little  ray  of 
sunshine  in  all  my  life.     And  yet  I  tell  you 


Juana  La  Garza.  33 

that  if  that  dear  old  mother  stood  in  the  way 
of  the  Church  of  Rome,  I'd  crush  her  withered 
limbs  upon  the  rack,  and  carry  her  broken 
body  into  the  plaza  to  be  burned  with  the 
heretics." 

"  Monster  !  "  gasped  the  lady,  her  eyes  dil- 
ated with  an  awful  shuddering  fear. 

"  I  have  raised  you  from  a  very  little  girl, 
my  daughter.  I  have  loved  you  as  mine  own, 
but  I  swear  to  you  by  the  God  above,  that  if 
you  do  not  deliver  to  us  this  night  the  foul 
traitor  who  has  fomented  rebellion  throughout 
the  land,  I  myself  will  take  you  to  a  fate  that  is 
worse  than  any  death  of  which  you  can  dream." 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  looked  long  into 
the  eyes  of  the  priest  Rafael  Aristo  and  in  them 
read  the  truth. 

Rising  with  a  beautiful  resignation  expressed 
upon  her  pallid  features  she  murmured  sadly  : 

"  Tell  me  what  you  wish,  my  father,  and  I 
obey." 

The  priest  raised  his  hand  in  benediction. 

"  There  spoke  the  daughter  of  the  Church," 
he  said  gently,  with  an  oily,  unctuous  smile. 
"  The  rebel  General,  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa 
Anna,  attends  the  masque  ball  in  honor  of  the 
Viceroy  this  evening.  It  might  be  reasonable, 
you  may  say,  to  seize  his  person  in  the  grand 
salon.  But  there  will  be  friends  in  attendance 
upon  him  and  extreme  measures  would  lead  to 
much  bloodshed  and  precipitate  a  massacre, 
— perhaps  cause  a  rising  of  the  people.  For 
Santa  Anna  is  popular  with  the  canaille.  But 
3 


34      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

you  can  lure  him  here  after  the  festivities  and 
then  when  your  husband  comes  to  take  venge- 
ance, the  world  will  cry  "  Well  done,"  and 
the  most  dangerous  enemy  of  the  holy  Church 
will  have  been  quietly  removed.  And  with 
Santa  Anna  and  Iturbide  dead,  the  Royalist 
power  in  Mexico,  is  secure,  since  the  Viceroys 
are  but  puppets  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

"  I  will  this  night  give  into  your  hands, 
General  Santa  Anna,  the  man  I  love,"  gasped 
the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  and  buried  her  face  in 
her  hands  sobbing  violently. 

°  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord.''  And  the  Head  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
raised  his  hand  in  benediction  over  her  head. 

"  And  now,  my  daughter,  the  blessing  of  the 
Church  rest  upon  you,  for  you  are  about  to 
show  yourself  a  true  daughter  of  the  Church. 
To-night,  a  lover  you  lose,  but  greater  than  a 
lover  your  gain,  the  protection  of  the  Church, 
the  holy  Church,  the  Church  of  Rome,  more 
enduring  than  the  world,  all-powerful,  perpet- 
ual, omnipresent,  mighty  Church.  Love — 
life — time  itself — must  one  and  all  give  way 
before  the  onward  march  ot  the  Church  of 
Rome.  I,  Rafael  Aristo,  am  the  Church  in 
Mexico,  and  being  the  Church  have  made 
you  what  you  are, — to  the  world,  a  shameless 
wanton, — to  me  an  instrument  to  lure  the 
puppets  of  history  to  destruction  for  the  good 
of  what  I  represent,  and  I  glory  in  my  handi- 
work. Together  we  will  rise  up,  you  and  I, 
up  and  up  and  up,  over  the  racked  bodies  of 


Juana  La  Garza.  35 

our  enemies,  until  there  remains  only  one  per- 
petual, all-existing  thing — the  Church — the 
Church — the  Church  which  in  Mexico  is  I — I — 
I — Rafael  Aristo  the  priest,  Rafael  Aristo  the 
Jesuit,  Rafael  Aristo  the  future  Richelieu  of 
the  New  World.  Until,  then,  my  daughter, 
you  are  my  very  abject  slave  to  work  my  will 
upon  these  poor  pitiable  things  that  dare  to 
flaunt  their  mean  ambitions  in  the  face  of  the 
will  of  the  Holy  Church.  Until  then,  my 
daughter,  you  are  mine,  mine,  mine,  all  mine. 
My  will  is  your  will.  My  ambition  is  your 
ambition.  Together  we  will  rise  up  and  up 
and  up,  over  the  bleeding  bodies  of  Santa 
Anna  and  the  rest,  up  perhaps  even  to  a  throne 
— who  knows?  " 

And  Rafael  Aristo,  with  the  wild  glare  of 
the  fanatic  in  his  lurid,  gleaming,  snake-like 
eyes,  looked  sternly  upon  the  little  lady  who, 
crushed,  fascinated,  hypnotized,  had  risen  and 
stood  trembling  before  him. 

From  the  grand  salon  came  the  martial 
notes  of  the  Palace  band  sounding  the  overture 
to  the  Hymno  Nacional,  and  the  priest  ex- 
tended his  hand  to  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza. 

"  His  Excellency  has  come  at  last/'  he  said 
softly.  "  Come,  my  daughter,  let  us  join  the 
merrymakers." 

Still  trembling  she  allowed  him  to  lead  her 
down  the  grand  stairway  and  into  the  presence 
of  His  Excellency,  Don  Juan  Apodaca,  Vice- 
roy of  Mexico,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the 
favor  of  the  Bourbons. 


36      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  MASON  AT  SIGHT. 

At  Dahalia's  affrighted,  anguished  cry,  Colo- 
nel Iturbide  turned  quickly  and  saw  a  tall 
slender  gentleman,  in  ultra  clerical  black,  with 
a  great  sugar-loafed  hat,  beneath  which  were 
features  pale,  handsome  and  regular, — eyes 
large  and  dreamy, — and  a  brow  lofty  and  intel- 
lectual, albeit  half  hidden  by  a  cluster  of  jet- 
black  curls. 

"  General  Don  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa 
Anna,"  he  muttered  in  deep  astonishment. 

"  Or  for  the  present,  Padre  Ybanez,  Lord 
Bishop  of  Vera  Cruz,"  replied  the  rebel  Gen- 
eral in  a  soft,  musical  voice. 

And  gently  supporting  Dahalia,  who  had 
recovered  from  her  momentary  weakness,  Santa 
Anna  continued  : 

"  A  few  moments  ago,  I  had  it  in  my  mind 
to  deprive  the  Viceroy  of  his  most  trusted 
councillor  and  Spain  of  her  most  intrepid 
commander." 

And  he  displayed  beneath  a  fold  of  his  cas- 
sock, a  long,  murderous-looking  stiletto. 

"  'Twould  have  been  an  easy  matter,  sefior 
Colonel,"  he  continued,  with  a  short,  rasping 
laugh.     "  But  curiosity   stayed  my  hand  and 


A  Mason  at  Sight.  37 

saved  a  new  leader  for  the  National  forces,  at 
present  termed  rebels.  And  so  senor,  first  of 
the  Mexicans,  I  greet  you  as  future  Liberator 
of  our  country." 

And  he  made  a  graceful  bow  to  which  Itur- 
bide  responded  with  a  warm  embrace.  For 
Iturbide  remembered  that  this  man  was  the 
brother  of  the  woman  he  loved. 

"You  are  mad,  Antonio,"  gasped  Dahalia, 
her  cheek  paling  at  thought  of  her  brother's 
peril.  "  Know  you  not  that  there  is  a  price 
upon  your  head  as  one  of  the  proscribed  ? 
That  you  can  expect  no  mercy  from  the  Vice- 
roy, for  His  Excellency  is  cruel  and  heartless 
and  would  gladly  give  you  over  to  the  tortures 
of  the  Inquisitors.  Ah,  my  God,  my  brother, 
you  have  come  voluntarily  to  your  death " 

"  Not  to  my  death,  little  sister,  but  to  the 
arms  of  the  woman  I  love,"  replied  Santa 
Anna  carelessly.  "  To  the  arms  of  the  lady 
Juana  la  Garza,  who  is  even  now  awaiting  me 
in  her  salon." 

"Juana  la  Garza — ah,  Dios, — you  love  that 
terrible  woman  ?  "  sobbed  the  girl.  "  You  are 
going  to  meet  the  creature  whose  heart  is 
blacker  than  the  night  about  us,  who  has  toyed 
with  the  affections  of  good  men  and  true,  only 
to  betray  them  when  she  is  awearied,  or  if  she 
permits  them  to  escape  her  toils  at  last  sends 
them  forth  broken,  ruined,  dishonored  gentle- 
men. You  are  going  to  the  woman  who  be- 
trayed me  to  the  Viceroy,  and  sent  me  out 
into  the  streets  alone  and  friendless  because  I 


38      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

would  not  close  my  eyes  to  her  wickedness, — 
because  I  saved  one  man  at  least — the  future 
Liberator  of  our  country — from  her  wiles  and 
fascinations?  Ah,  my  brother,  tell  me  you  do 
not  love  her — tell  me  you  do  not  love  her." 

"  I  cannot/'  murmured  Santa  Anna.  "  For 
she  is  my  all — my  life,  my  Mexico,  my  world. 
When  we  of  the  Southland  love,  my  sister,  it 
is  an  all-consuming  passion,  and  so  with  me, 
my  whole  future  is  in  the  hands  of  this  woman. 
If  my  love  for  her  should  lead  me  to  the  very 
gates  of  hell,  cheerfully  would  I  go  on  and  on 
and  on.  Of  her  past  I  know  nothing  and  care 
less.  I  only  know  that  I  love  her  and  loving 
her  I  would  die  for  her.  Patriot  and  all  that  I 
am,  I  would  betray  my  dear  Mexico  if  need  be 
for  the  love  of  Juana  la  Garza,  the  fairest, 
sweetest,  dearest  lady  in  all  the  land.  So  it  is 
useless  to  plead  with  me.  I  came  here  to-night 
at  the  risk  of  my  life  to  carry  out  the  mission 
unfulfilled  and  kill  the  man  who  has  led  the 
victorious  armies  of  old  Spain  over  the  bodies 
of  my  countrymen.  But  a  merciful  Providence 
intervened  to  save  from  assassination  the  most 
intrepid  soldier  our  country  has  produced. 
And  so,  chiquita, — to-night  for  me  will  be  a  night 
of  love.  To-morrow — the  camp  again,  and  bat- 
tle and  bloodshed.  To-night  a  night  of  idle 
dalliance  with  the  swreetest  lady  in  all  the  world 
to  me.     To-morrow " 

"  To-morrow,  Antonio, — ah,  Santo  Dios,  I 
shudder  at  thought  of  what  the  morrow  may 
have  in  store  !  "  sobbed  Dahalia. 


A  Mason  at  Sight.  39 

Santa  Anna  turned  abruptly  to  Colonel  Itur- 
bide  and  grasped  his  hand  warmly. 

"  Amigo  mio,  to-night  I  sought  your  life  and 
found  your  friendship.  Until  a  short  while  ago 
I  feared  you  and,  fearing  you,  came  here  to  kill 
you.  Now,  trusting  you  I  confide  to  you  the 
honor  of  my  little  sister,  Dahalia.  She  is  all  I 
have,  seilor,  and  if  aught  should  befall  her  I 
believe  it  would  break  my  heart.  It  has  been 
said  of  you,  Colonel  Iturbide,  that  you  are  the 
most  gallant  of  all  the  gentlemen  in  Mexico, 
and  I  know  that  you  will  guard  the  honor  of 
the  sister  of  Santa  Anna  as  you  would  guard 
your  own." 

"As  I  would  guard  my  own,"  said  the  Royal- 
ist Colonel,  raising  his  hand  solemnly. 

"  I  am  a  marked  man,  the  country  through," 
continued  Santa  Anna.  "  About  to  venture 
my  all  for  the  sake  of  the  woman  I  love,  I  look 
to  you,  my  new  found  friend  and  brother-in- 
arms, to  see  that  my  sister  has  safe  conduct 
from  the  Capitol.  Due  west  from  the  city, 
some  few  leagues  is  a  little  wayside  meson,  the 
Posada  del  Sabinal,  where  at  present  are  the 
most  trusted  of  my  officers.  They  await  the 
coming  of  a  million-dollar  convoy  of  the  Vice- 
roy." 

"  Dios — a  million-dollar  convoy  !  "  gasped 
Iturbide,  his  pale  face  flushed  with  interest  and 
excitement.  "  The  General  who  is  able  to  in- 
tercept that  convoy  will  have  Mexico  at  his 
feet." 

"  And  Mexico  is  the  stake   for  which  we  are 


40      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

playing,"  pursued  Santa  Anna  calmly.  "  With 
the  convoy  of  the  Viceroy  in  our  hands,  we  can 
levy  troops  sufficient  to  drive  the  Spanish 
forces  south  to  the  sea.  My  duty  told  me  to 
stay  and  possess  myself  of  the  wealth  that 
would  make  me  master  of  Mexico.  My  love 
summoned  me  to  the  side  of  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza.  And  so  my  friend,  I  turn  over  the 
command  of  the  National  forces  to  you." 

"And  my  warrant?"  asked  Iturbide,  the 
light  of  a  great  ambition  shining  in  his  eyes. 

"  The  signet  ring  of  Santa  Anna,"  replied  his 
companion,  passing  a  heavy  seal  to  the  Royal- 
ist Colonel.  "  It  is  the  sign  of  the  thirty-third 
degree.  The  wearer  of  that  ring  can  move  at 
will  the  mysterious  brotherhood  of  Mexican 
Freemasons.  With  that  seal  you  can  rally  to 
your  standard  the  forces  of  Guerrero,  Guada- 
lupe Victoria,  and  those  other  patriot  chiefs 
who  have  carried  on  the  struggle  begun  by 
Hidalgo  long  years  ago.  And  first  of  the  Mex- 
icans, I  make  you  a  Mason  at  sight  by  virtue 
of  my  power  as  head  of  the  Scottish  Rite. 
You  are  one,  for  and  with  us,  now  and  for  all 
time,  in  life  and  in  eternity." 

Reverently  the  Royalist  Colonel  kissed  the 
great  seal  of  the  rebel  General  Santa  Anna,  and 
for  a  few  moments  the  two  conversed  apart 
from  Dahalia.  Then  Santa  Anna,  embracing 
his  sister,  turned  and  with  a  gentle  "  Adios," 
vanished  into  the  darkness  of  the  night. 


The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy.    41 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FETE  IN  HONOR  OF  THE  VICEROY. 

ALONG  the  whole  length  of  the  Calle  de  San 
Francisco,  there  was  a  great  crush  of  aristo- 
cratic equipages  with  a  rich  blazoning  of 
armorial  escutcheons  and  emblems  of  rank.  At 
the  entrance  of  the  Casa  Garza,  a  company  of 
chasseurs,  in  full-dress  uniforms,  were  drawn  up 
four  deep. 

In  the  grand  salon  of  the  Casa  Garza,  the 
scene  was  one  of  ever-varying  pageantry  and 
splendor.  Pretty  Poblana  girls,  in  merino 
dresses  of  bright  hues,  bespangled  and  gold  be- 
decked,— serious  looking  Contadinas  in  white, 
— grave  nuns  and  novices,  elbowed  with  fierce- 
looking  soldiers  of  the  time,  serious-visaged 
Jesuits,  gloomy  Trappists,  Mestizos  and  rein- 
carnated Viceroys. 

There  were  La  Vallieres,  Nell  Gwynns,  and 
Montespans.  For  each  there  was  a  Royal 
Louis  and  a  Charles. 

From  the  richly  garnished  boxes  with  their 
Chinese  lanterns,  the  staid  and  portly  lady 
patronesses  with  their  muchly  bepowdered 
faces,  their  lavish  diamonds  and  great  coiffures 
looked  down  upon  the  merrymakers. 

The  select    band   of  the  "  Viceroy's  Own" 


42      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

furnished  the  orchestral  accompaniment  to  the 
dancing. 

Under  one  of  the  lamps,  in  a  secluded  por- 
tion of  the  grand  salon,  a  Padre  in  a  violet 
robe,  scarlet  cloak,  and  shovel  hat,  was  con- 
versing in  a  whisper  with  an  Inquisitor  in  black. 

The  Padre  was  the  General,  Don  Antonio 
Lopez  de  Santa  Anna. 

The  Inquisitor  was  His  Excellency,  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  by  the  Grace  of  God  and 
the  favor  of  the  Bourbons. 

"  And  so,  my  Lord  Bishop  of  Vera  Cruz,  you 
will  have  it  that  this  Santa  Anna  is  not  so  bad 
as  he  has  been  painted  ?  "  laughed  His  Ex- 
cellency, slapping  his  companion  upon  the  back. 

"  In  faith,  Your  Excellency,"  replied  Santa 
Anna  in  equally  jocular  vein  responding  to  the 
other's  mood,  "  in  faith,  Your  Excellency, 
Santa  Anna  and  I  were  boys  together — buen 
companeros,  and  in  my  opinion,  no  better  fellow 
lives  than  he  who  has,  through  the  misinter- 
pretation of  his  enemies,  been  maligned  and 
termed  a  bandit." 

"  A  fine  fellow  indeed,"  sneered  the  Viceroy, 
"  levying  tribute  on  His  Sovereign  Majesty 
the  King,  pillaging  the  clergy,  burning  villages 
and  planning  raids  upon  our  soldiery.  'Twas 
only  two  months  back,  my  Lord  Bishop,  that 
we  were  told  how  Santa  Anna  and  his  band  in- 
vaded the  sacred  precincts  of  your  Palace  and 
made  Your  Reverence  and  your  suite  to  stand 
upon  your  heads  like  a  lot  of  mummers,  while 
they  feasted  at  your  table." 


The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy.    43 

"  A  merry  jest  in  truth,"  replied  his  com- 
panion. "  A  jest  which  I  forgive  Santa  Anna, 
because  of  our  old  comradeship." 

"  But  a  jest  which  we  will  not  forgive  nor 
forget,"  replied  the  Viceroy.  "  Listen,  Lord 
Bishop  of  Vera  Cruz.  I  have  set  a  price  upon 
the  rascal's  head.  If  he  be  taken  alive  it  will 
be  more  to  my  liking." 

"  And  why,  Your  Excellency?  "asked  Santa 
Anna  with  one  of  those  penetrating  glances 
which  marked  the  man. 

"  That  I  may  amuse  myself,"  hissed  the 
Viceroy,  a  vindictive  look  of  hate  mantling  his 
bilious  face.  "  We  take  not  so  many  rebels, 
even  in  these  troublous  times,  that  the  Inquisi- 
tion palls  upon  us.  For  myself,  I  can  conceive 
no  happier  moment  than  when  the  Inquisitor 
puts  the  question  to  some  poor  devil  of  a 
patriot  self-styled.  The  groans  and  cries,  the 
blood-stained  rack,  the  stoicism  with  which  so 
many  meet  the  question  are  all  music  to  mine 
ears.  I  sometimes  feel  a  touch  of  pity  and 
admiration  when  some  poor  fool  yields  up  his 
last  gasp  for  the  imaginary  ideal  he  calls  his 
country.  And  I  have  heard  so  much  of  this 
guerilla  chieftain,  that  I  am  assured  he  would 
afford  a  most  amusing  spectacle  upon  the  rack." 

"  A  spectacle  I  fear  you  will  not  soon  see, 
Excellency,"  replied  Santa  Anna  tersely. 

"  Eh — what — and  why — ?  "  asked  the  Viceroy 
abruptly,  casting  a  half  suspicious  glance  upon 
his  companion. 

"  Quien   sabe  ?    Excellency,"    replied  Santa 


44      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

Anna  with  a  careless  shrug  of  his  shoulders. 
"  Only  I  have  heard  it  said  that  Santa  Anna 
has  sworn  never  to  be  taken  alive.  Too  well 
he  knows  the  cruelty  of  our  Viceroys,  a  matter 
of  history.  'Twas  only  a  short  time  back,  Ex- 
cellency, when  he  saw  a  former  Captain  of  the 
Royal  forces,  noted  for  his  great  strength  and 
manly  beauty,  torn  from  his  home  and  delivered 
over  to  the  Inquisitors.  Once  again  he  saw 
that  man — a  broken  reed,  gray-haired  at  twenty- 
five,  weak  and  decrepit,  yet  sustained  by  one 
great,  all-consuming  desire — vengeance.  And 
that  man  will  return  to  his  dishonored  home 
to-night." 

The  Viceroy  started. 

Then  with  a  cruel,  hard  laugh. 

"  His  name,  seilor,  tell  me  his  name  that  I 
may  prepare  a  fit  reception." 

For  the  Viceroy  had  no  thought  of  Captain 
la  Garza  whose  wife  he  delighted  to  honor. 

"  His  name — his    name "    echoed    Santa 

Anna.     Then  suddenly : 

"  Ah  pardon,  Excellency — one  moment — our 
hostess  does  me  the  honor  to  invite  me  to  her 
box." 

And  with  a  gallant  bow  he  hastened  towards 
the  box  of  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  leaving  the 
astonished  Viceroy  staring  after  him. 

As  he  knelt  before  the  most  beautiful  woman 
in  Mexico,  Santa  Anna  could  only  look  and 
look  and  look. 

Such  beauty  as  hers  made  him  speechless. 

With  a  graceful  genuflexion,  the  lady  Juana 


The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy.    45 

la  Garza,  inclined  gently  towards  him,  and  in  a 
voice  that  trembled,  in  spite  of  her  apparent 
composure,  whispered  : 

"Antonio,  you  must  leave  this  house  at 
once — for  its  very  atmosphere  is  death-exhal- 
ing. In  five  minutes  it  will  be  too  late — per- 
haps is  even  now  too  late." 

"But  your  promise?"  whispered  Santa 
Anna.  "  Is  this  my  reward  for  neglecting  my 
duty  and  periling  my  life,  to  once  more  en- 
clasp you  in  my  arms?  Ah,  Juana, — heart  of 
my  heart — dear  one,  you  no  longer  love  me." 

"  It  is  because  I  love  you  that  I  bid  you  go, 
Antonio,"  murmured  the  lady,  trembling  with 
passion  and  the  glow  of  the  lovelight  in  her 
eyes. 

"  The  real  Bishop  of  Vera  Cruz,  whose  robes 
you  wear,  has  escaped  from  your  lines  and  is 
even  now  in  the  anteroom  awaiting  a  private 
audience  with  the  Viceroy." 

"  Carramba  !  This  is  indeed  serious,"  mut- 
tered Santa  Anna.  Then  with  a  sudden  reso- 
lution : 

"  I  will  not  go,  I  can  outface  the  Bishop  of 
Vera  Cruz  and  denounce  him  before  the  Vice- 
roy as  an  impostor." 

"  It  will  not  avail,"  said  the  lady  la  Garza. 
"  And  even  so,  this  danger  passed,  there  is  an- 
other to  be  met.  My  husband  returns  to-night 
— for  vengeance — and  for  me." 

"I  knew  it,"  said  Santa  Anna.  "And  I 
came  here  to  take  you  with  me  to  the  National 
Camp.     Ah,  Juana,  come  with  me  to-night  and 


46      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

I  will  defend  you  in  my  hacienda  of  Mango  de 
Clavo,  though  all  the  picked  forces  of  the  Vice- 
roy are  sent  against  me.  Come — my  darling — 
Juana." 

"  To-night — impossible  !  "  gasped  the  lady 
la  Garza.  "  This  house  is  closely  watched  by 
the  Inquisitors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  if 
I  should  attempt  to  leave  the  salon  with  you, 
it  would  mean  death — your  death  and  mine." 

"  Ah  Dios,  my  darling,  let  us  die  together 
then,  since  we  cannot  live  together,"  cried  Santa 
Anna  recklessly. 

"  No,  Antonio,  we  will  live  for  the  future," 
replied  the  lady.  "  Listen,  my  love.  Do  you 
escape  this  nest  of  our  enemies  to-night  and  I 
swear  to  you  that  on  the  morrow,  I  will  join 
you  at  Mango  de  Clavo." 

"  You  swear  that,  Juana  ?  You  swear  that  ?  " 
cried  Santa  Anna  joyfully,  and  would  have 
seized  her  in  a  fond  embrace,  forgetting  all  else 
save  his  love,  had  she  not  waved  him  gently 
back. 

"  I  swear  it  by  my  mother's  memory."  she 
murmured. 

"  Then  hast  a  la  vista,  my  darling — till  we 
meet  again,"  said  Santa  Anna  and  pressing  his 
lips  gently  upon  her  little  hand,  he  mingled 
with  the  crowd  of  merrymakers,  passed  to  the 
grand  staircase  and  calmly  brushed  by  the  guard 
at  the  portals  of  the  Casa  Garza. 

When  he  had  disappeared  from  view,  the 
lady  Juana  la  Garza  pressed  her  hand  to  her 
side  and  sank  upon  the  divan. 


The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy.    47 

"  My  lover  is  saved,  but  I — I  am  lost  be- 
yond hope,"  she  gasped.  "  For  that  accursed 
priest  said  that  if  I  did  not  this  night  deliver 
Santa  Anna  to  his  enemies,  he  himself  would 
take  me  to  a  fate  far  worse  than  any  death  of 
which  I  could  dream.  Well,  it  is  better  so. 
By  this  one  word  of  warning,  I  make  atone- 
ment for  my  wretched  past  and  save  for  Mex- 
ico her  great  patriot  leader.  And  when  Gen- 
eral Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna  has  marched 
triumphant  into  the  Capitol,  driving  his  ene- 
mies before  him,  when  he  has  raised  the  red, 
white  and  green  banner  of  Independence  over 
the  Palace  of  the  Viceroys  perhaps  then  he'll 
think  sometimes  of  the  wretched  woman  to 
whom  he  first  recalled  the  sense  of  woman- 
hood and  her  duty  to  her  country,  the  woman 
who  to-night  has  betrayed  the  Society  of  Jesus 
to  the  Brotherhood  of  Freemasons,  because 
she  loves  Santa  Anna." 

"  Juana,  you  are  not  yourself, — you  are  sad 
— you  weep." 

It  was  the  effeminate  lisp  of  His  Excellency, 
Don  Juan  Apodaca,  Viceroy  of  Mexico. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  looked  at  Don  Juan 
Apodaca  as  he  stood  under  the  glare  of  many 
lights,  bowing  low  and  smiling  with  the  self- 
assurance  of  one  of  absolute  power  and  her 
face  took  on  an  expression  of  icy  reserve  that 
was  almost  contempt.  And  this  insignificant, 
dissipated,  aristocratic  little  Manling  with  his 
smooth-shaven,  pallid  face,  his  scarlet  and  gold 
uniform  just  showing  under  his  cassock,  this 


48      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

man  had  come  between  husband  and  wife  and 
made  her  a  wanton  ? 

Dios — how  she  hated  the  man. 

"  I  have  come  to  bid  you  farewell,  Juana. 
For  I  go  to  a  private  audience  with  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  City  Guard  and  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
Vera  Cruz,"  continued  the  Viceroy. 

She  started.  The  Lord  Bishop  of  Vera 
Cruz  !  If  the  Viceroy  should  see  him  and  learn 
of  Santa  Anna's  deception,  he  would  set  on 
foot  all  the  vast  machinery  of  the  soldiery, 
and  throw  such  a  cordon  of  troops  around  the 
city,  that  the  rebel  General  must  eventually 
be  captured.  No,  the  Viceroy  must  not  be 
permitted  to  attend  this  audience. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  became  at  once 
the  fascinating,  beautiful  woman  of  the 
world. 

With  her  most  charming  smile,  she  took  the 
Viceroy's  hand,  gently  in  her  own. 

"  Your  Excellency  shows  me  but  scant  court- 
esy," she  murmured  softly.  "  I  have  so  looked 
forward  to  the  moment  when  you  would  spend 
another  night  at  Casa  Garza  and  whisper  in 
my  ears  the  old  familiar  story.  But  no — your 
love  for  me  is  on  the  wane.  You  are  like  all 
the  rest,  and  I  had  learned  to  think  your  love, 
at  least,  something  more  than  the  fleeting  pas- 
time of  a  moment." 

"  Valgame  D;os — Juana —  my  darling — you 
love  me  still,  and  I — poor  wretched  fool  —  I 
thought  you  had  long  since  wearied  of  your 
Viceroy." 


The  Fete  in  Honor  of  the  Viceroy.    49 

And  His  Excellency  dropping  upon  his  knees 
seized  her  little  hand  rapturously. 

Nor  did  she  withdraw  it. 

"  Your  Excellency  will  ever  be  my  foremost 
thought  in  life,"  she  said,  smiling  upon  him. 
"  Since  you  and  you  alone  awakened  in  my  soul 
first  thought  of  love,  I  forgive  your  recent 
neglect,  but  conditionally." 

"  Conditionally  ?  "  echoed   the  Viceroy. 

"Come  with  me  to  my  boudoir  and  suffer 
the  tiresome  old  Bishop  of  Vera  Cruz  to  cool 
his  heels  in  the  anteroom  until  morning.  It 
will  do  him  good." 

"  But  the  matter  is  of  moment — there  are 
strange  rumors "  began  the  Viceroy. 

"Ah,  you  hesitate  between  a  prosaic  old 
priest  and  a  night  of  love  ?  "  broke  in  the  lady 
poutingly. 

"  Dios  no  !  "  replied  the  Viceroy.  "  Else 
would  I  not  be  a  man  !  so,  lead  on,  sefiora,  to 
the  boudoir." 

"And  to  my  husband,  libertine,"  whispered 
the  lady  as  she  smilingly  took  his  arm. 


50      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   MILLION-DOLLAR    CONVOY    OF    THE 
VICEROY. 

At  every  exit  from  the  Capitol,  a  cordon  of 
the  City  Guard  performed  sentry  duty,  with 
instructions  to  allow  no  one  to  pass  their  lines 
without  the  password. 

The  password  had  been  changed  by  the  Vice- 
roy at  the  hour  of  the  Angelus. 

A  little  band  of  scarlet  troopers,  the  most 
devoted  and  intrepid  of  Colonel  Iturbide's 
regiment — men  who  would  have  followed  him 
to  the  very  gates  of  Hell — awaited  only  a  word 
from  their  beloved  leader  to  make  a  dash  for 
liberty. 

But  Iturbide  remembered  that  the  woman  he 
loved  rode  at  his  side,  and  he  would  not 
needlessly  endanger  her  life  by  a  sudden  dash 
through  the  Royalist  lines. 

"  A  hundred  and  twenty  of  us,  amigos,"  he 
said.  "  Now  do  you,  Captain  Lara,  assume 
command  of  this  troop  and  I  will  see  the  officer 
of  the  guard,  and  if  possible  persuade  him  to 
pass  my  men.  If  not  we  must  cut  our  way 
through.  This  lady  rides  in  the  center  of 
the  troop    and    I    hold  each  one    of  you     re- 


The  Million-Dollar  Convoy.        51 

sponsible  for  her  safety.  You  understand,  my 
friends  ?  " 

The  troopers  saluted,  and  Captain  Lara 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  column. 

Iturbide  approached  the  sentry,  who,  recog- 
nizing his  Colonel's  insignia,  in  the  glare  of  the 
flambeaux,  saluted.  In  a  brusque  voice  the 
Colonel  cried  : 

"  The  Acapulco  troop  of  Los  Rojos — one 
hundred  and  twenty  strong." 

The  officer  of  the  City  Guard  saluted. 

"  And  the  password,  senor  Colonel?  " 

"  Is  it  necessary  in  my  case,  amigo  ?  "  bland- 
ly asked  Iturbide. 

"  My  orders,  senor  Colonel." 

"  And  you  cannot  pass  my  troop  upon  my 
recognizance?"  pursued  Iturbide. 

"  Impossible,  senor  Colonel.  My  orders 
were  most  strict,"  said  the  man. 

"  Have  you  tablets  with  you  ?  "  asked  Itur- 
bide. 

The  man  nodded  and  handed  them  to  his 
interlocutor. 

Iturbide  hastily  wrote  upon  them, 

"  Ultima  ratio  regum — Iturbide." 

That  is  to  say — War  ! 

And  handing  them  to  the  man  added,  "  For 
the  Viceroy." 

Then  raising  his  saber  above  his  head  Itur- 
bide cried : 

"  Attention— soldiers  of  the  Reds  !  " 

The  troopers  straightened  themselves  in 
their  saddles. 


52      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  And  the  password,  senor  Colonel  ?  "  per- 
sisted the  sentry,  this  time  grasping  the  bridle 
of  Iturbide's  horse. 

"  Is  this,"  replied  Iturbide,  striking  the  fellow 
between  the  eyes  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword. 
The  sentry  fell  to  the  ground  moaning.  There 
was  an  instant  commotion  in  the  camp  of  the 
City  Guard,  and  a  running  to  arms. 

"Forward!"  cried  Iturbide  waving  his 
sword. 

And  the  scarlet-clad  troop  dashed  through 
the  camp,  riding  down  many  a  poor  devil  who 
chanced  to  be  in  their  path. 

The  pace  was  kept  up  for  several  leagues  and 
then  lessened  to  an  ordinary  cavalry  trot. 
There  seemed  to  be  an  unusually  large  crowd 
of  pilgrims,  canonigos,  and  leperos  traveling 
the  road  towards  the  Capitol,  and  Captain  Lara, 
smiling,  grimly  said  : 

"  We  are  safe  from  pursuit,  Colonel  mine." 

"  And  I  on  the  contrary  think  we  will  be 
hard  put  to  it,"  said  Iturbide  meditatively. 

"  Noticed  you  the  pilgrims  and  leperos  on 
the  road  behind  us,  Colonel  mine  ?  "  asked  Cap- 
tain Lara. 

"  A  somewhat  out  of-the-ordinary  number 
of  wayfarers,"  was  the  reply. 

"  They  are  the  outposts  of  the  rebel  forces," 
continued  Captain  Lara.  "  And,  por  Dios,  the 
whole  cordon  of  the  City  Guard  could  not  pass 
them  by  in  time  to  overtake  us." 

"  Then  press  we  on  to  the  Posada  del  Sabi- 
nal,"    said    Iturbide.     '■  If    we    overhaul    the 


The  Million  Dollar  Convoy.        53 

million-dollar  convoy  of  the  Viceroy,  we  sound 
the  death  knell  of  Spanish  rule  in  Mexico." 

The  night  was  well  on.  A  gibbous  moon 
threw  weird,  ghastly  shadows  into  the  guest- 
room of  the  Posada  del  Sabinal,  where  at  a 
long  table,  four  priests  and  a  stylishly  dressed 
woman  in  a  rich  riding  habit  of  green  and  gold, 
sat  over  their  wine  conversing  in  whispers. 

A  slatternly,  wheezing  old  boniface,  limped 
around  a  little  more  rapidly  than  was  his  wont, 
because  the  Blessed  Virgin,  did  not  usually 
favor  him  with  such  a  large  patronage — and  so 
select — four  priests  and  a  lady.  And  the  land- 
lord of  the  Posada  del  Sabinal,  in  the  intervals 
of  leisure  offered  him,  wheezed  out  a  few  extra 
prayers  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  told  off  a 
few  additional  beads  on  his  rosary.  For  the 
landlord's  heart  was  glad. 

Presently,  the  lady  left  her  companions,  and 
going  to  the  open  door  shaded  her  eyes  in  the 
most  vain  endeavor  to  discern  if  there  might  be 
any  wayfarers  or  soldiery  approaching  along 
the  endless,  dry,  alkali,  dusty  road. 

Before  her  stretched  a  vast  tableland,  sparse 
of  vegetation,  save  for  the  great  organ  cacti, 
sending  their  giant  stalks  in  every  direction, 
and  the  less  conspicuous  chaparral  and  mes- 
quit  bushes  through  which  the  sinuous,  wind- 
ing road  curled  in  and  out,  losing  itself  in  the 
distance.  To  the  east  not  a  sign  of  human 
being  or  animal.  To  the  west  the  road  wound 
abruptly  off  from  the  Posada  del  Sabinal,  hid- 
den by  the  abnormally  large  cacti,  ever  increas- 


54      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

ing  in  size  as  they  were  nearer  the  bare  moun- 
tains and  higher  altitude. 

About  a  mile  above  the  inn,  in  the  desert,  a 
road  from  the  south  intersected  the  main  road. 
This  the  young  woman  could  not  see  from  her 
coigne  of  observation.  But  her  sense  of  hear- 
ing trained  to  a  superfine  acuteness,  caught  the 
faintest  rumble  of  the  wheels  in  the  distance. 

"  The  convoy  of  the  Viceroy,"  she  cried, 
turning  quickly  to  her  companions. 

"  Confusion  to  the  Viceroy,"  said  the  priests 
rising  and  clutching  their  glasses. 

The  young  woman  abruptly  closed  the  door, 
fastening  the  latch  on  the  inside. 

"  Courage — companeros  !  "  she  murmured, 
resuming  her  place  at  the  head  of  the  table. 

And  now  the  heavy  rumble  of  the  conducta, 
along  the  hard,  dry  road,  was  heard,  broken  by 
the  cracking  of  whips  and  the  hoarse  cries  of 
the  escort. 

There  was  the  sound  of  horsemen  without, 
followed  by  a  loud  knocking  and  a  few  choice 
oaths. 

"  Oiga — Santo  Dios — open  in  the  name  of  the 
Viceroy  !  "  growled  a  harsh,  rough  voice. 

"  Coming — brave  sefiores — coming,"  wheezed 
the  old  boniface,  limping  to  the  door  and  loos- 
ing the  latch. 

"  Well— Mother  of  God— it  is  time—"  quoth 
the  newcomer,  very  angrily,  stalking  into  the 
room. 

Then  seeing  the  lady  he  made  an  awkward 
military  bow,  his  helmet  in  his  hand,  saying  : 


The  Million-Dollar  Convoy.         55 

"Your  pardon,  sefiora, and  fathers  all." 

"  Granted,  Captain  mine,  right  readily,  if  you 
will  join  us  at  table,"  said  the  lady  grac- 
iously. 

"  That  I  may  not  do,  senorita,"  returned  the 
stranger ;  "  but  I  will  gladly  join  you  in  a  copita 
of  wine.  And  then  I  must  push  on,  by  order 
of  His  Excellency." 

"  And  suppose  I  should  give  you  His  Excel- 
lency's permission  to  tarry  with  us  here  ?  "  asked 
the  lady  with  a  winning  smile. 

"  And  were  it  possible,  I  would  too  gladly 
stay,"  rejoined  the  stranger,  "  for  the  night 
promises  to  be  a  stormy  one." 

"  Then,  senor  Capitan,  know  that  I  am  the 
Viceroy's  niece,  Senora  Fernandez,  sent  here  to 
intercept  your  conducta,"  said  the  lady  and 
smiled  upon  him. 

"  To  intercept  the  conducta — ?  "  faltered  the 
officer.     "  Then  you  know ?  " 

"  I  know,  senor  Capitan,  that  a  million-dol- 
lar convoy,  with  but  one  troop  of  cavalry,  even 
though  they  be  of  our  '  Viceroy's  Own,'  can- 
not with  safety  risk  the  roads  these  troublous 
times.  And  so  I  asked  my  uncle  to  forward  an 
additional  force  for  your  protection." 

"  Most  kind  and  considerate  lady,  I  thank 
you,"  responded  the  officer  ;  "  but  I  think, 
nevertheless,  your  fears  are  groundless.  No 
sign  of  human  being  have  we  met  upon  the  road 
this  day." 

"  And  yet  they  say  that  Santa  Anna  and  his 
dare-devils  are  abroad,"  replied  the  lady. 


56      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  Bah — a  mere  boy,"  contemptuously  replied 
the  officer. 

"  And  Guerrero  and  his  guerillas,"  added 
the  lady. 

"  An  old  man,"  replied  the  officer.  "  I  would 
despatch  them  both  at  short  notice  with  their 
canaille — for  they  could  make  no  organized  re- 
sistance to  the  picked  troops  of  the  Viceroy's 
Own.  Still,  to  please  the  mood  of  one  so  fair, 
I  will  wait  the  coming  of  the  reinforcements." 

And  excusing  himself,  the  Captain  went  out 
to  direct  the  corralling  of  the  convoy. 

The  priests  and  the  lady  indulged  in  no  little 
merriment  at  the  expense  of  the  unsuspecting 
officer. 

The  future  of  Mexico  rests  in  the  possession 
of  this  convoy,"  muttered  one  of  the  priests, 
looking  thoughtfully  into  the  carafe  of  spark- 
ling wine  before  him. 

"  Dios — with  a  million  in  bullion — almost  any 
man  might  precipitate  a  revolution,"  added  the 
lady,  then  paused  abruptly. 

The  strange  officer  had  returned. 

"  Pardon  the  delay,  lady,"  he  said.  "  And 
now  to  introduce  myself — Captain  Berdejo  of 
the  Jalapa  troop  of  the  Viceroy's  Own." 

"  And  my  father  confessor,  Fray  Jimenez, 
de  profession  Catolico,  Apostolico  y  Romano," 
replied  the  lady  indicating  the  tall  priest  at  her 
left  with  a  graceful  gesture. 

The  two  men  shook  hands  and  embraced, 
and  then  the  tall  priest  introduced  his  compan- 
ions. 


The  Million-Dollar  Convoy.        57 

The  Captain  of  the  Convoy  took  his  seat  at 
the  lady's  right  and  gallantly  accepted  the 
copita  of  wine  which  she  offered  him. 

Then  ensued  a  brilliant  and  spirited  conver- 
sation, interspersed  with  many  a  jest  and  story. 

Two  hours  passed. 

A  terrific  peal  of  thunder,  followed  by  a 
blinding  flash  of  lightning,  for  a  moment 
silenced  the  party. 

Outside  the  wind  was  howling  with  a  fierce 
and  angry  gusto,  and  such  a  downpour  of 
heavy  rain  was  falling  as  falls  in  Mexico  alone. 

"  Drink  up,  drink  up,  senor  Captain,  and 
thank  the  good  God  that  you  have  a  friendly 
shelter  overhead  on  this  night  of  all  nights,'' 
laughed  the  lady,  desirous  of  keeping  the 
officer's  attention  from  without." 

"  I  do  indeed  thank  the  good  God,"  replied 
Captain  Berdejo  crossing  himself.  "  But  I 
could  have  sworn  I  heard  the  clash  of  sabers 
and  the  shouting  of  voices  in  combat." 

"  Nonsense,  amigo — the  storm  has  unmanned 
you,"  softly  purred  the  lady  with  a  merri- 
ment she  did  not  feel,  for  she,  too,  fancied  she 
heard  the  clash  of  steel  upon  steel. 

A  sonorous  crash  from  the  heavens  above 
almost  drowned  her  voice,  and  the  rain  fell 
with  increasing  vigor. 

"  My  lady  there  is  nothing  terrifying  to 
Captain  Berdejo,  of  the  Viceroy's  Own,"  said 
the  officer  gravely.  "  And  His  Excellency 
well  knew  that  his  convoy,  entrusted  to  my 
troop,  was  absolutely  safe." 


53      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  Even  from  Santa  Anna?"  asked  the  lady. 

"  Aye,  from  Santa  Anna — from  Guerrero — 
from  Guadalupe  Victoria " 

The  door  opened  and  a  great  gust  of  wind 
extinguished  the  flickering  candles.  A  vivid 
peal  followed  by  another.  Then  a  tense  flash 
of  lightning  showed  the  startled  merrymakers 
the  figure  of  a  man  in  the  uniform  of  the 
Blues,  bleeding  from  many  wounds  and  lean- 
ing upon  a  reddened  saber. 

And  then  darkness. 

But  in  a  break  of  the  storm,  a  faint,  ever 
weakening  voice,  the  voice  of  a  dying  man, 
growing  ever  fainter  and  fainter. 

"  Mother  of  God — we  fought — Captain — 
but  the  Reds — Iturbide — ah  Dios " 

The  sound  of  a  dull  thud  and  the  clang  of 
steel  against  the  wall. 

Then  silence. 

All  were  upon  their  feet,  awed  by  this 
apparition  of  the  night.  One  of  the  priests 
lit  a  candle. 

Captain  Berdejo  was  leaning  back  against 
the  wall  like  one  distraught,  whose  faculties 
had  taken  sudden  leave. 

"  What — what — does  the  man  mean  ?  "  he 
asked  faintly. 

"  He  means  that  you  have  been  the  guest  of 
Santa  Anna's  sister,  sefior  Captain,"  said  the 
young  woman.  "  He  means  that  the  convoy 
of  His  Excellency  will  never  reach  the  Capitol." 

"  You — you — ah,  she-devil !  "  shrieked  Cap- 
tain Berdejo,  frantically  grasping  his  sword  hilt. 


The  Million-Dollar  Convoy.         59 

But  the  lady  pressed  the  point  of  a  jeweled 
stiletto  to  his  throat  and  calmly  looking  into 
his  face  said  : 

"  Patience,  my  brave  Captain.  Your  cause 
is  irrevocably  lost." 

And  the  Captain  of  the  Convoy  could  only 
look  into  that  pretty,  laughing  face,  for  he 
read  death  in  the  limpid  black  eyes. 

By  the  flickering  candlelight,  he  could  see 
the  black,  statue-like  forms  of  the  priests 
standing  immobile  in  their  places — a  silent 
dead  thing  in  a  tattered,  blood-bespattered 
blue  uniform,  lying  disordered  in  the  doorway, 
— the  slim  figure  of  a  young  girl  in  a  riding 
habit,  calmly  pressing  her  murderous  stiletto 
upon  his  throat. 

Simultaneously  the  room  was  filled  with  a 
crowd  of  blood-bespattered  troopers,  in  scarlet 
uniforms,  with  great  shakos  and  encrimsoned 
sabers. 

One  man  separated  himself  from  his  fellows, 
one  man  in  the  gold  and  scarlet  uniform  of  a 
Colonel  of  cavalry,  and  advanced  towards  the 
tall  priest  with  the  light  of  battle  still  shining 
in  his  eyes. 

Troopers  and  priests  fell  upon  their  knees 
with  the  exception  of  the  tall  man  in  black, 
the  sister  of  Santa  Anna,  and  Captain  Berdejo 
who  leaned  weakly  against  the  wall. 

"  The  million-dollar  convoy  of  the  Viceroy 
is  ours  and  Mexico  has  found  her  master  at 
last,"  cried  Iturbide  triumphantly. 

And  Dahalia,  as  she  looked  upon  him,  stand- 


60      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

ing  there  could  not  but  compare  him  with  the 
inferior  men  of  his  suite. 

He  was  more  like  a  European  or  an  Amer- 
ican than  a  Mexican.  Five  feet  nine  in  height, 
of  muscular  build,  possessing  markedly  oval 
features,  a  complexion  of  a  peculiar  whitish 
pallor,  and  brown  hair  and  side  whiskers,  he 
offered  a  striking  contrast  to  the  swarthy 
faced  men  who  surrounded  him. 

And  as  she  looked,  came  into  her  eyes  the 
glow  of  the  lovelight,  and  gently  clasping  his 
hand  she  murmured  : 

"  My  hero — my  Emperor — my  love." 


The  Bedchamber  of  Juana  La  Garza.     61 
CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  BEDCHAMBER  OF  JUANA  LA  GARZA. 

The  faintest  streak  of  dawn  was  just  break- 
ing over  the  Capitol.  In  the  distance,  through 
the  dim  light  of  early  morning,  loomed  up  the 
white-capped  peaks  of  Popocatapetl  and  Iztac- 
cihuatl.  Beautiful  indeed  they  looked  in  the 
shimmer  of  the  early  dawn. 

Across  the  courtyard  of  the  Casa  Garza,  two 
men  moved  noiselessly, — a  priest  in  a  black  cas- 
sock, and  a  soldier  in  a  worn  blue  uniform, 
wearing  the  insignia  of  a  Captain  of  the  "  Vice- 
roy's Own."  In  a  darkened  corner  of  the  court- 
yard, well  hidden  under  the  shadow  of  the 
palace,  a  troop  of  helmeted  hussars  were  drawn 
up  at  attention,  awaiting  the  order  of  their 
officer. 

The  two  men  entered  a  private  passage-way 
and  as  noiselessly  ascended  to  the  salon  above. 

"  You  desire  to  meet  this  man  alone  ?  "  asked 
the  priest  doubtfully. 

"  Alone  ?  Ah  Dios,  yes,"  rejoined  the  officer 
in  a  subdued  voice  tremulous  with  passion. 
"  After  all,  your  reverence,  he  is  only  a  man 
and  I  would  be  but  a  poor  husband  if  I  could 
not  defend  mine  honor.  Wait  you  here 
until  I  have  returned  and  if  I  do  not  return 
within  ten  minutes  you  may  know  that  I  have 


62      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

fallen  and  sound  the  alarm  to  the  troopers  that 
this  foul  libertine  may  never  leave  Casa  Garza 
alive." 

And  he  left  the  priest  a  solitary,  anxious 
figure  at  the  door. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  stole  silently  from 
the  great  canopied  bed,  and  moved  gently  to 
the  window,  a  sad-faced,  pitiful  looking,  little 
figure  in  white.  Her  beautiful,  wavy  hair,  fell 
in  great  curls,  over  her  waxen  shoulders.  The 
open  folds  of  her  robe  de  nuit,  revealed  a  mag- 
nificent bosom,  that  rose  and  fell  in  rapid 
pulsations,  in  consonance  with  her  breathing. 

The  Viceroy  slept. 

The  lady  la  Garza  lighted  a  candle  from  the 
braziero. 

Then  paused,  her  lips  half  parted  in  a  sort  of 
nameless  terror,  her  eyes  dilated  with  a  sudden 
fear. 

For  at  the  door  opening  into  the  salon,  she 
distinctly  heard  a  low,  steady  knocking. 

"  Ah  God — my  husband "she  murmured 

faintly,  "  have  I  the  courage  to  look  him  in  the 
face  ?  And  after  all  that  he  has  suffered  be- 
cause of  his  love  for  me  ?  It  is  my  punishment 
and  I  will  make  my  atonement  to  the  man  whose 
name  I  bear  and  whose  name  I  have  dishon- 
ored." 

With  trembling  hands  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza  flung  wide  the  door  and  looked  at 
the  wretched  man,  who  stood  there,  silent, 
grim  and  sorrowful,  in  his  tattered  blue  uniform, 
still  dank  with  the  musty  odors  of  a  prison  cell. 


The    Lady     Juana  la   Garza   flung  wide  the  door  and   looked  at  the 
wretched   man    who   stood   there,    silent,   grim   and   sorrowful. 

Page  62. 


The  Bedchamber  of  Juana  La  Garza.    63 

For  a  moment  they  did  not  move. 

Then  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  like  one  in  a 
dream,  moved  slowly  back,  her  eyes  fixed  with 
an  awful  fascination  upon  this  broken  old  young 
man,  whom  she  had  last  seen  in  all  the  splendor 
of  glorious  young  manhood. 

He  had  not  drawn  his  sword. 

With  no  weapon  but  the  light  of  righteous 
indignation,  and  outraged  honor  in  his  eyes,  he 
followed  her  silently  into  the  boudoir. 

And  he  too  looked  with  an  awful  fascination 
upon  the  beautiful  woman,  who  cowered  there 
before  him. 

She  seemed  almost  too  young  to  die. 

He  felt  sorry  for  her. 

He  felt  sorry  for  himself. 

Perhaps  he  had  better  go  away  and  leave  this 
woman  to  her  sin. 

Perhaps 

A  deep  sigh  from  the  sleeping  Viceroy  re- 
called him  to  a  sense  of  his  duty. 

He  stepped  over  to  the  window  and  drew 
aside  the  curtain,  allowing  the  glorious  sun  rays 
to  stream  full  into  the  apartment. 

The  Viceroy  stirred  restlessly  in  his  slum- 
ber. 

Captain  la  Garza  drew  aside  the  canopy  of 
the  bed,  and  stood  there  looking  at  the  sleep- 
ing man,  his  eyes  fixed,  hypnotic,  intent, — his 
arms  folded  upon  his  breast. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  had  fallen  upon  her 
knees  and  was  telling  her  rosary,  before  a  little 
altar  near  the  window. 


64      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

Gradually  the  Viceroy  stirred  restlessly — 
yawned — opened  his  eyes, — and  encountered 
the  stern,  unrelenting  gaze  of  Capitan  la  Garza. 

11  Diable  ! — betrayed,  by  heaven  !  "  he  ex- 
claimed, raising  himself  to  a  sitting  posture. 

Then  as  Capitan  la  Garza  made  no  movement, 
the  Viceroy  continued  : 

"  I  suppose  it  is  an  assassination.  Well,  then, 
strike,  sefior.     I  am  ready." 

And  he  bared  his  breast. 

Captain  la  Garza,  contemptuously  pointed 
to  the  Viceroy's  sword  which  lay  upon  a  chair 
with  his  clothes. 

4<  It  is  not  an  assassination,  Excellency.  It 
is  retribution.  Draw  and  defend  yourself,  be- 
fore I  forget  that  I  am  a  gentleman  of  Mexico 
and  strike  an  unarmed  man." 

His  tones  were  hard  and  merciless. 

The  Viceroy  sprang  from  the  bed  and  throw- 
ing a  dressing-gown  loosely  over  his  shoulders, 
drew  his  sword  with  trembling  hand. 

Very  leisurely  Captain  la  Garza  divested 
himself  of  his  coat  and  rolled  up  his  sleeves, 
and  in  turn  drew  his  saber. 

The  two  men  saluted  and  Captain  la  Garza 
advanced  upon  the  Viceroy. 

Their  blades  crossed. 

Then  indeed  there  was  pretty  swordplay. 
The  duello  was  one  between  skilled  swordsmen. 
It  was  advance  and  retreat,  lunge,  parry,  parade 
and  riposte,  to  the  metallic  rasping  of  the 
steel. 

Slowly  La  Garza  drove  the  Viceroy  back,  for 


The  Bedchamber  of  Juana  La  Garza.    65 

he  had  it  in  his  mind  to  pin  him  against  the 
wall. 

His  Excellency  made  a  furious  lunge  and  the 
point  of  his  sword  just  missed  his  opponent's 
heart.  His  Excellency  gave  vent  to  a  savage 
cry  of  joy,  as  a  small  red  spot  appeared  upon 
La  Garza's  shirt-front. 

But  the  Captain,  all  oblivious  to  his  wound, 
pressed  his  enemy  the  more  closely. 

Sparks  of  fire  played  along  the  two  blades. 

And  La  Garza's  blade  snapped  asunder. 

"  I  have  you,"  shouted  the  Viceroy. 

"  Not  yet,"  hissed  la  Garza. 

And  parrying  the  Viceroy's  furious  thrust, 
with  his  broken  blade,  he  seized  him  by  the 
throat  and  forced  him  back  against  the  wall  his 
sinewy  hands  encircling  His  Excellency  as  in  a 
vise, — one,  long,  slender,  snakelike,  creeping 
around  the  Viceroy's  throat, — the  other  grasp- 
ing the  Viceroy's  right  hand,  pinning  it  with 
the  sword,  hard  upon  the  wall  behind. 

The  Viceroy  gagged  and  choked.  That  aw- 
ful, anaconda-like  clasp,  tightened  around  his 
throat,  strangling  him,  killing  him.  That  aw- 
ful, placid  face,  with  the  great,  black  eyes, 
peering  into  his  with  a  ghastly  smile — the  face 
of  Captain  la  Garza — ah,  Dios, — he  would  carry 
it  to  the  grave .  This  must  be  death,  in- 
deed. 

Through  his  fast  glazing  eyes  he  became 
aware  of  a  newcomer  in  the  room. 

The  priest,  Rafael  Aristo. 

And  the  Viceroy  fainted. 
5 


66      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

When  His  Excellency  gradually  recovered 
consciousness,  he  became  aware  of  many  mar- 
tial, uniformed  officers  surrounding  him  where 
he  lay  upon  the  bed, — of  a  pale,  disheveled 
woman,  sobbing  near  the  window, — of  the 
priest,  Rafael  Aristo. 

And  of  the  still,  silent  figure  of  Captain  la 
Garza,  lying  full  length  upon  the  floor,  a  great 
gash  upon  his  head. 

"  Madre  de  Dios,  Your  Excellency — the  good 
God  sent  me  here  in  time  to  save  you,"  cried 
the  priest  joyfully.  "  A  moment  more  and  it 
would  have  been  too  late — too  late." 

The  Viceroy  rose  slowly  and  walked  over 
to  the  prostrate  body  of  Captain  la  Garza. 
He  looked  down  upon  it  for  a  long  time 
and  spurned  it  with  his  foot.  Then  turned 
away. 

"  Is  the  man  dead  ?  "  he  asked  finally. 

One  of  the  officers  knelt  over  the  prostrate 
figure  and  placed  his  ear  to  the  chest. 

"  His  heart  still  beats  faintly,  Excellency," 
he  said. 

"  Bueno,"  muttered  the  Viceroy  grimly. 
Then  pointing  to  the  sobbing  woman,  he  con- 
tinued : 

"  Holy  father,  I  came  between  this  woman 
and  this  man,  in  the  long  ago.  I  unite  them 
again.  The  woman  would  have  betrayed  me. 
The  man  has  dared  to  raise  his  hand  against 
God's  anointed.  See  to  it  that  they  spend 
their  second  honeymoon  in  the  deepest  dun- 
geon of  the  Fortress  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa." 


The  Bedchamber  of  Juana  La  Garza.   67 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  uttered  a  fearful 
cry  of  terror  and  agony. 

11  Ah,  Your  Excellency,  mercy,  mercy,"  she 
sobbed.  "  I  swear  as  God  is  my  judge,  I  am 
innocent." 

The  priest,  Rafael  Aristo,  roughly  seized  her 
slender  wrists,  and  bending  over  until  his  hot, 
fevered  breath  touched  her  cheek,  he  hissed  : 

"  Silence,  woman.  I  promised  you  a  fate 
far,  far  worse  than  death  if  you  failed  us. 
Daughter  of  the  Church,  no  longer, — come  to 
the  dungeons  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa, — the  begin- 
ning of  the  end." 

And  he  would  have  dragged  her  to  her  feet, 
but  that  with  a  final  shriek — 

"  The  dungeons  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa — hell 
upon  earth, — ah  God " 

She  fainted. 


68      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    HONOR   OF   SANTA   ANNA. 

His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  sat 
at  table,  surrounded  by  the  officers  of  his  staff. 
The  cuisine  was  of  the  richest,  and  the  wines 
were  of  the  best.  But  there  was  no  laughter 
upon  the  Viceroy's  face. 

The  furnishings  of  the  apartment  were  of  the 
most  luxurious.  Satin  upholstery,  rugs  of  the 
richest  furs,  massive  old  plate  with  the  Vice- 
regal crest,  old-world  china,  great  rosewood 
chairs  of  state,  and  satin-draped  settees,  gave 
an  air  of  almost  regal  magnificence  to  the  sur- 
roundings. 

His  Excellency  was  holding  one  of  his 
famous  councils  in  dressing-gown  and  slippers, 
but  even  so  his  costume  was  of  the  most 
elegant. 

The  Viceroy  then  did  not  laugh,  for  there 
were  many  vacant  chairs  at  this  informal  coun- 
cil of  war.  At  such  a  crisis  when  a  simple  up- 
rising had  developed  into  a  revolution,  when 
the  victorious  armies  of  Agustin  de  Iturbide, 
were  advancing  daily  nearer  the  Capitol,  and 
driving  the  picked  forces  of  Spain  before  them, 
at  such  a  time,  His   Excellency  the  Viceroy, 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.        69 

had  every  reason  to  look  for  a  full  attendance 
of  los  Gachupines,  or  his  Spanish  Generals. 

But  the  chairs  of  Bustamente,  Andrade, 
Quintanares,  Cortazares,  Negrete,  Echavarri, 
and  Novella  were  conspicuously  vacant. 

Around  the  official  whose  sun  was  about  to 
set,  in  the  political  firmament,  there  were  still 
gathered  a  faithful  few,  mostly  line  officers. 
There  was  Brigadier  Linan,  resplendent  in  a 
hussar  uniform  of  blue  and  gold,  and  near  him, 
the  Brigadier  Don  Jose  Davila,  Captain  Fer- 
nando del  Valle  and  Lieutenant  Navarrette. 

"  The  case  is  desperate  indeed,"  murmured 
the  Viceroy,  glancing  at  the  empty  chairs." 
"  We  are  losing  ground.  Yesterday  when  I 
went  upon  the  Plaza  Grande,  I  was  greeted  with 
the  cry,  Viva  el  Virey — Live  the  peacemaker." 
To-day  there  were  scowling  faces  and  sullen 
silence.  Dios,  senores,  something  must  be  done 
and  quickly  to  retrieve  our  arms.  Shall  we  unite 
our  forces  against  the  arch  traitor  Iturbide,  or 
shall  we  make  a  division  and  attack  the  forces 
of  the  lesser  rebel,  Santa  Anna,  in  the  south 
simultaneously  ?  " 

The  vote  was  taken  in  silence. 

Then  the  Viceroy  rising  said  : 

"  Brigadier  Linan, — you  will  take  a  division 
and  march  immediately  against  Iturbide  in  the 
western  provinces,  Brigadier  Davila,  you  will 
march  at  once  to  the  southern  provinces,  occupy 
Vera  Cruz,  and  take  the  rebel  Santa  Anna, 
dead  or  alive.  If  you  find  yourself  forced  to 
surrender  the  Fortress  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa, 


70      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

you  will  before  capitulation,  sec  to  the  instant 
execution  of  all  the  prisoners  confined  in 
the  dungeons, —  irrespective  of  sex.  They  are 
rebels  and  traitors  all." 

"  Does  your  Excellency  include  the  Captain 
la  Garza  and  his  wife  in  this  order?"  began 
the  Brigadier  Davila  hesitatingly. 

"  I  believe  I  remarked  all  the  prisoners,  irre- 
spective of  sex,"  replied  the  Viceroy  dryly. 

The  Brigadier  Linan  broke  in. 

"  Our  departure  leaves  the  Capitol  almost 
defenseless  save  for  the  Blues  and  the  City 
Guard." 

"They  are  all-sufficient,"  responded  His  Ex- 
cellency. "  Besides,  to-night,  Captain  Berdejo 
and  the  Jalapa  troop  will  arrive,  convoying  a 
conducta  of  one  million  dollars,  which  will  give 
us  the  means  of  throwing  new  troops  into  the 
field.  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  armies  of 
Spain,  how  soon  can  you  put  your  forces  in 
motion  ?" 

"  At  once.  The  soldiers  are  now  under 
arms,"  was  the  simultaneous  response. 

"  Then  go,  and  God  speed  you,"  said  His 
Excellency. 

The  two  Brigadiers  saluted  and  left  the 
apartment.  -i 

The  Viceroy  rose. 

The  two  remaining  officers  saluted. 

"  Captain  del  Valle,  who  is  stationed  at  the 
door  to  my  library  ?  "  asked  the  Viceroy. 

"  The  new  recruit, — the  one  who  comes  from 
the  southern  provinces,"  was  the  reply.     "  He 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.         71 

is  dumb  and  hence  the  more  reliable  in  these 
uncertain  times  when  every  nook  and  corner 
may  conceal  a  spy." 

"  I  passed  the  man  but  an  hour  since,"  said 
the  Viceroy.  "  There  is  a  familiar  something 
about  the  fellow  and  yet  I  cannot  place  him 
Pity  he  is  dumb." 

"  Has  Your  Excellency  aay  orders?"  asked 
Captain  del  Valle. 

"  If  Captain  Berdejo  should  arrive  show  him 
at  once  into  the  library,"  said  His  Excel- 
lency. "  My  writing  will  occupy  me  until 
morning." 

The  officers  saluted  and  withdrew.  The 
Viceroy  gazed  around  the  now  silent,  deserted 
room  and  put  his  hand  before  his  eyes. 

"  Treachery  and  treason — daily  desertions," 
he  murmured  sadly.  " To-night  I  am  His 
Excellency — to-morrow  what  ?  " 

Opening  a  private  door  he  ascended  a  short, 
onyx  stairway  of  a  few  steps,  leading  into  his 
library.  At  the  door,  he  saw  a  tall  hussar, 
with  his  saber  at  a  carry,  who  saluted  as  he 
approached.  The  Viceroy  gave  the  man  a 
piercing  glance  as  he  passed,  for  there  was 
something  about  the  fellow  that  made  him  ill 
at  ease. 

In  the  library,  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy, 
threw  himself  heavily  into  the  state  chair  be- 
side the  table,  and  after  glancing  at  the  docu- 
ments with  which  it  was  littered,  began  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  map. 

The  upholstering  of  the  library  was  of  crim- 


72      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

son  satin,  the  furniture  was  of  dark  mahogany, 
and  the  scarlet  shades  of  the  candelabra  en- 
hanced the  somber  hues.  A  large,  onyx  inlaid 
table,  was  in  the  center  of  the  apartment,  upon 
which  was  a  saber  with  jeweled  hilt  and  a  pair 
of  pistols. 

An  hour  passed — an  hour  of  silence,  broken 
only  by  the  tick,  tick,  tick,  tick,  of  the  old 
clock,  which  had  ticked  for  the  nightly  vigils  of 
sixty-seven  Spanish  Viceroys. 

The  door  opened  and  closed. 

His  Excellency  looked  up. 

Before  him  stood  the  sentry. 

With  his  sword  at  a  carry,  he  saluted,  then 
placed  it  in  its  sheath,  and  stood  there  in 
silence,  his  arms  folded  upon  his  breast. 

"  Eh — what  ?  I  did  not  summon  you,  fel- 
low," gasped  the  Viceroy,  with  a  vague 
alarm. 

The  soldier  removed  his  helmet  and  the 
Viceroy  sank  back  in  the  great  chair,  his  brow 
pallid  and  clammy. 

"  Santa  Anna "  he  gasped. 

"  Santa  Anna,"  calmly  said  the  soldier,  in  a 
dull,  hard  voice. 

"  You  are  mad,  man.  Do  you  not  know 
that  with  a  single  pull  of  the  bell-cord,  I  can 
summon  those  who  will  lead  you  forth  to  in- 
stant execution  as  a  spy?  " 

And  His  Excellency  stretched  out  his  hand 
towards  the  bell-cord,  but  there  was  something 
in  Santa  Anna's  face,  that  arrested  his  hand. 

"  Why  are  you  here  ?  "  he  asked  abruptly. 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.         73 

"To  obtain  from  you  an  order  releasing  the 
lady  Juana  la  Garza,  from  the  Fortress  of 
San  Juan  de  Uloa,"  said  Santa  Anna. 

"And  you  offer  in  return  for  this?"  sneered 
the  Viceroy. 

"  Your  life,"  said  Santa  Anna. 

Then  as  the  Viceroy  again  stretched  his 
hand  towards  the  bell-cord,  Santa  Anna  con- 
tinued : 

"  Excellency,  we  two  are  absolutely  alone. 
Before  your  officers  can  come  to  your  assist- 
ance, one  or  both  of  us  will  be  dead." 

Again  His  Excellency  refrained  from  pulling 
the  bell-cord.  For  he  knew  that  Santa  Anna 
spoke  the  truth. 

"  You  offer  me  but  small  return  when  you 
offer  me  my  life,"  he  said  earnestly.  "  For  to 
a  man  like  me  my  vengeance  is  dearer  than 
life  itself.  And  after  all  my  star  is  on  the 
wane.  Perhaps  I  might  hold  a  more  honored 
place  in  history,  were  I  to  fall  by  the  hand  of 
Santa  Anna  to-night.  For  to-night  I  am  still 
His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  and  to- 
night the  proud  banner  of  old  Spain  floats 
over  the  Capitol.     But  to-morrow " 

He  did  not  complete  his  sentence,  but  buried 
his  face  in  his  hands. 

Nor  did  Santa  Anna  speak. 

Finally  His  Excellency  resumed  : 

"You  are  a  brave  man,  General  Santa  Anna, 
and  I  believe  that  with  your  support,  the  cause 
of  the  Bourbons  will  triumph  in  Mexico.  Take 
the  field  under  the   Spanish  banner  and  I  will 


74     Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

give  you  the  life  and  liberty  of  the  woman  you 
love." 

And  a  crafty  smile  overspread  the  bilious 
face  of  His  Excellency. 

"  Draw  my  sword  for  the  accursed  cause 
against  which  I  have  fought  these  many  years 
— draw  my  sword  against  my  brother-in  arms, 
Iturbide  ?  It  would  be  dishonor,  unworthy  of 
a  Mexican  gentleman,"  cried  Santa  Anna. 

"  Dishonor — Iturbide,"  softly  said  the  Vice- 
roy with  his  fathomless,  crafty  smile.  "  Strange 
that  you  should  link  the  two,  my  friend.  They 
are  synonymous." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Santa  Anna. 

"  Will  you  force  me  to  say  that  which  will 
cause  you  regret  all  through  your  life  ?"  asked 
the  Viceroy. 

"  I  do  not  understand  Your  Excellency," 
said  Santa  Anna.  "  Dishonor  —  Iturbide — ■ 
synonymous  ?  Ah  God — you  do  not  mean  my 
little  sister  Dahalia?  Tell  me  you  do  not 
mean  my  little  sister  Dahalia, —  Excellency. 
He  is  to  marry  her.  He  gave  me  his  word  as 
a  gentleman  of  Mexico.  Madre  de  Dios — why 
does  Your  Excellency  not  speak?  You  are 
torturing  me." 

The  Viceroy  bowed  his  head  again  upon  his 
hands,  and  was  silent. 

Santa  Anna  continued  : 

"  Our  dear  old  mother  entrusted  her  to  my 
care  when  she  was  but  a  nifia — a  little,  toddling, 
innocent  child.  And  I  have  watched  over  her 
and  guarded  her  these  many  years.     And  only 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.        75 

when  I  thought  I  was  going  to  certain  death 
did  I  entrust  her  to  the  care  of  the  Liberator 
General, — a  gentleman  of  Mexico — her  affi- 
anced husband." 

The  Viceroy  shook  his  head  sadly. 

"  Do  you  not  know  that  General  Iturbide 
has  a  wife  living  in  the  province  of  Valladolid  ?  " 
he  asked. 

With  a  groan  Santa  Anna  sank  into  a  chair, 
his  form  shaken  by  a  great  emotion. 

The  Viceroy  could  have  easily  summoned  his 
officers  and  overpowered  the  man.  But  he 
thought  to  win  him  over  to  the  cause  of  Spain. 

After  a  long  interval  Santa  Anna  rose,  once 
more  himself. 

"  Is  this  the  truth,  Your  Excellency  ?  "  he 
asked  in  a  forced,  unnatural  voice. 

"  On  my  honor  as  a  Spanish  nobleman,"  re- 
plied the  Viceroy,  very  solemnly. 

"  Then  accursed  be  the  day  that  I  gave  my 
hand  in  friendship  to  Agustin  de  Iturbide,"  said 
Santa  Anna.  "  As  I  have  labored  to  raise  him 
to  the  supremacy  of  Mexico,  so  henceforth  I 
shall  labor  to  his  undoing." 

"And  I  will  aid  you,"  said  the  Viceroy,  a 
great  joy  in  his  eyes.  "  For  I  will  commission 
you  a  Brigadier  of  the  Spanish  line." 

"  Excellency — there  is  one  thing  I  place 
above  all  personal  feeling,"  replied  Santa 
Anna  gravely.  "  Mexico — my  country.  This 
man — Iturbide — has  driven  back  your  forces 
almost  to  the  Capitol.  He  is  on  the  eve  of 
establishing  the  Independence  of  Mexico.     So 


76      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

be  it.  The  private  vengeance  of  Santa  Anna 
can  wait.  But  when  this  new  star  in  the  fir- 
mament shall  have  risen  almost  to  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  his  ambition,  he  shall  find  his  Santa 
Anna  as  England's  Edward  found  his  War- 
wick." 

11  Then  you  refuse  a  Brigadier's  commission 
in  our  army?"  said  the  Viceroy.  "  You  will 
fight  for  the  cause  of  a  man  who  has  attainted 
your  name  with  dishonor?" 

"  Por  Dios — no,"  thundered  Santa  Anna. 
"  Release  the  lady — Juana  la  Garza — and  I 
pledge  you  my  word,  as  a  Mexican  gentleman, 
to  retire  to  my  hacienda  of  Mango  de  Clavo, 
and  suffer  Iturbide  to  work  out  his  destiny 
alone." 

"  So  be  it,"  said  the  Viceroy  and  grasped  his 
pen. 

This  was  a  victory  half  gained. 

When  he  had  finished  his  writing,  and 
stamped  the  document  with  the  royal  seal,  he 
handed  the  paper  to  Santa  Anna. 

"  This  is  the  first  of  the  month,"  he  said. 
''That  order  will  release  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza  from  the  Fortress  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa 
on  the  fifteenth  at  high  noon." 

Santa  Anna  saluted. 

"  I  thank  Your  Excellency.  I  shall  not  for- 
get what  you  have  done  for  me  this  night. 
Henceforth  Santa  Anna  lives  but  for  two 
things — love  and  vengeance." 

A  moment  and  he  was  gone. 

The  Viceroy  looked  after  him  sneeringly. 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.        Jj 

"  Poor  fool — poor  fool  !  "  he  muttered.  "  But 
a  moment  ago  you  held  the  destiny  of  Mexico 
in  your  hand  and  you  sacrificed  your  great 
opportunity  for  the  love  of  a  woman  you  will 
never,  never  see  again." 

Once  more  the  door  opened  and  closed.  His 
Excellency  looked  up.  Before  him  stood  a 
dust-covered,  haggard  trooper,  with  downcast, 
livid  countenance. 

He  saluted  with  his  saber. 

Then  advanced  to  the  Viceroy  and  laid  it 
upon  the  table.  Next  tore  off  the  gold-laced 
insignia  of  an  officer  of  the  Blues  and  cast  them 
to  the  ground. 

"  Excellency "  he  faltered,  the  tears  cours- 
ing down  his  cheeks. 

The  Viceroy  of  Mexico  sprang  up  and  swore 
a  great  oath. 

"  The  convoy !  "  he  gasped,  "  the  one  mil- 
lion in  Spanish  bullion?  " 

"  Is  in  the  hands  of  Iturbide,"  groaned  Cap- 
tain Berdejo. 

"  Santo  Dios  !  and  the  Jalapa  troop — the 
pride  of  my  regiment  —  permitted  this?" 
shrieked  the  Viceroy. 

"  There  is  no  longer  a  Jalapa  troop,  Excel- 
lency. They  fell  fighting  for  you,"  groaned 
the  man. 

"  And  you  ?  "  shrieked  the  Viceroy. 

"  I  returned  to  make  the  only  reparation  a 
soldier  can,"  said  the  Captain  of  the  Jalapa 
troop.     "  Or  else  to  retrieve  mine  honor." 

"  There  is  but  one  reparation  you  can  make," 


78      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

said  the  Viceroy  grimly.  And  he  took  up  one 
of  the  pistols  from  the  table. 

"  I  am  ready,  Excellency,"  said  the  Captain, 
folding  his  arms,  and  throwing  his  head  back 
with  a  new-found  joy  in  his  eyes. 

The  Viceroy  fired. 

Intentionally  or  otherwise  he  missed  his  aim. 

The  Cajotain  of  the  Jalapa  troop  never 
moved. 

The  Viceroy  looked  at  him  a  moment  in 
admiration,  then  tossed  the  pistol  aside  with 
a  bitter  laugh. 

"  No,  no,  my  brave  Captain.  It  is  not  such 
men  as  you  that  I  can  spare  at  such  a  time.  I 
give  you  your  life  for  the  present,"  he  said. 

'•You  give — me — my  life,  Excellency?" 
gasped  the  Captain  of  the  Jalapa  troop,  falling 
upon  his  knees.     "  And  my  pardon  ?  " 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  the  Viceroy,  writing  rap- 
idly at  the  table.  "  You  are  under  sentence 
of  death  until " 

And  he  finished  his  writing  and  sealed  the 
document  with  the  royal  arms.  Then  con- 
tinued— 

"  Until  you  bring  me  convincing  proof,  that 
the  lady  J  uana  la  Garza  is  dead.  Here  are  two 
documents.  One  is  an  order  for  the  immediate 
execution  of  Captain  la  Garza  and  his  wife,  the 
lady  Juana,  at  eleven  o'clock,  of  the  15th  day 
of  this  month.  The  other  is  an  order  for  the 
delivery  of  the  body  of  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza 
to  the  General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna, 
at  high  noon  of  the  15th.     You  understand?  " 


The  Honor  of  Santa  Anna.        79 

And  he  handed  him  the  documents. 

"  I  understand,  Excellency,"  said  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  Jalapa  troop.  "  Henceforth  I  live 
but  to  serve  you,  and  I  shall  not  rest  until  I 
have  seen  these  two  enemies  of  my  master 
dead." 

"  Bueno,"  said  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  sternly. 
"  And  remember,  you  serve  me  best  by  put- 
ting this  foul,  treacherous  woman  where  she 
can  lure  no  more  men  to  ruin.  Hasta  la  vista, 
pues,  hasta,  amigo.  By  riding  night  and  day, 
you  can  reach  the  Fortress  of  San  Juan  de 
Uloa,  on  the  evening  of  the  14th." 

"  Your  orders  shall  be  obeyed,"  said  the 
Captain  of  the  Jalapa  troop.  Then  saluted 
and  with  an  "  Adios,  Excellency,"  left  the 
room. 

When  he  had  gone  the  Viceroy  buried  his 
face  in  his  hands. 

Finally : 

"  My  cause  is  lost — lost  irrevocably.  But  I 
think  my  revenge  will  almost  be  worth  the  loss 
of  a  one-million-dollar  convoy." 


8o      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DUNGEONS  OF  SAN  JUAN  DE  ULOA. 

On  a  rocky  island  commanding  the  city  of 
Vera  Cruz,  towering  skyward,  stands  the  Castle 
of  San  Juan  de  Uloa,  the  heritage  left  by  Her- 
nan  Cortez  to  the  Viceroys  of  Mexico.  Blacker 
than  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  within, 
strongly  fortified  as  Gibraltar  without,  it  stood 
apart  upon  its  little  morro,  a  little  hell  in  it- 
self. 

Loud  around  it  roared  many  an  angry  storm. 
Hoarse  against  its  crags  dashed  many  pitiless 
breakers. 

But  all  the  noises  of  the  heavens  above,  and 
of  the  ocean  beneath  could  not  suffice  to  drown 
the  awful,  pitiful,  wailing  shrieks  of  the  poor 
wretches  doomed  to  the  misery  of  durance  in 
San  Juan  de  Uloa. 

Spain  has  left  many  a  bloody  page  on  the 
memorials  of  history  and  when  in  the  aftertime 
her  name  shall  be  called  from  the  roll  of  the 
world's  nations,  there  will  rise  in  accusation 
against  her,  from  her  new  world  records,  a 
Montezuma,  an  Ahatualpa,  a  Hidalgo,  a  Mina, 
and  a  host  of  martyrs,  whose  blood  has  served 
to  glut  the  appetites  of  her  creatures.  But 
when  the  blackest  page  of  her  new  world  record 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  81 

is  scanned,  methinks  the  name  of  San  Juan  de 
Uloa  will  stand  blazoned  out  in  letters  of 
blood-red  scarlet. 

There  are  dungeons  upon  dungeons  in  the 
great  military  prisons  of  the  world,  but  no- 
where are  there  such  dungeons  as  in  the  Fort- 
ress of  San  Juan  de  Uloa. 

Situated  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea, 
beneath  the  buttresses  of  the  Castle,  extending 
some  sixteen  feet  below,  their  stony  walls  were 
possessed  of  a  dank,  disagreeable,  fever-breed- 
ing humidity.  Their  floors  were  more  or  less 
covered  with  water  from  the  sea  and  not  infre- 
quently great  crabs  and  shiny  jellyfish  would 
ooze  in  and  awaken  the  sleeping  wretches  con- 
fined there  with  nightmare  of  realism.  Fetid, 
vaultlike  odors  had  seasoned  the  gloomy  life 
coffins,  until  el  vomito  became  a  frequent 
visitor,  and  the  very  sentries  on  guard  shud- 
dered and  were  staggered  with  nausea,  as  they 
opened  the  low  doors,  to  toss  the  scant  allow- 
ance to  the  hungry  skeletons  within,  who  tore 
and  clawed  at  the  bits  of  food  like  vultures 
quarreling  over  cadaverous  repast.  And  well 
they  might.  For  the  rations  were  not  many. 
Upon  the  prison  records  the  allowance  daily 
per  capita  was  of  bread  four  ounces,  of  rice 
three  ounces,  and  of  beans  three. 

But  the  venial  officials  of  a  venial  nation, 
often  curtailed  this  and  the  result  was  that  the 
Fortress  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa  was  the  dwelling 
place  of  life  in  death.  The  beans  and  rice  were 
always  cooked  in  salt  water,  that  the  prisoners 
6 


82      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

might  learn  the  lesson  of  economy  and  not 
yearn  for  second  service. 

Prison  economy  was  not  limited  to  food,  but 
extended  even  to  the  manacles.  As  a  means 
of  saving  space,  the  unfortunate  wretches  were 
chained  by  twos  or  threes  or  fours,  men  and 
women,  arm  to  arm  and  leg  to  leg. 

The  only  light  came  from  a  slit-like  aperture 
at  the  top,  and  one  hardly  knew  whether  it  was 
night  or  day. 

It  was  night. 

Deepest  silence  everywhere,  broken  by  an 
occasional  long-drawn  sigh  or  lingering  groan. 
Face  forward  on  a  slimy,  dirty  surface,  a  man 
and  a  woman  lay,  manacled  to  the  floor.  The 
man's  face  was  covered  by  a  rough  beard  of 
many  days'  growth,  his  hair,  matted  and  un- 
kempt, hanging  in  shaggy,  tangled  locks  over 
his  shoulders.  Something  cold  and  gristly 
whisked  by  his  ear  with  a  shrill  squeak,  and 
Captain  la  Garza  gibbered  and  laughed  fran- 
tically,— for  long-suffering  had  made  him  mad. 
The  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  pinioned  to  the  floor 
near  him,  could  only  look  and  look  and  look 
with  a  great  pity  in  the  direction  of  the  man 
whom  once  she  had  loved. 

And  she  tried  to  remember  the  gallant  young 
officer,  in  his  blue  and  gold  hussar  uniform,  who 
had  led  her  to  the  altar  and  given  her  his  name. 

A  name  she  had  sullied  with  dishonor. 

The  man  who  was  now  a  poor,  unhappy  fool, 
a  vacant  stare  upon  his  face,  the  laugh  of  idiocy 
upon  his  lips,   great  clots  of  blood   upon  his 


O    be 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  83 

clothes,  and  upon  his  wrists  and  limbs  suppur- 
ating ulcers  from  the  cruel  irons,  sores  in  which 
the  processes  of  decomposition  and  gangrene 
were  already  far  advanced. 

His  sufferings  must  have  been  awful.  Chain- 
ed beside  him  was  the  dead,  decomposing  body 
of  an  old  man. 

Only  the  preceding  day,  the  Surgeon  of  the 
Fortress  had  drawn  up  a  memorial  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, stating  that  another  day  under  such  con- 
ditions meant  certain  death  for  Captain  la 
Garza.  For  the  Surgeon  had  a  spark  of  pity 
for  the  poor  devils  under  his  care,  being  still  a 
young  man  and  not  yet  hardened  to  such 
things. 

But  the  Governor  of  the  Fortress  wrote  upon 
the  memorial, — 

"  Que  los  lleve,  mientras  respira." 

Which  is  to  say  : 

"  While  he  breathes,  he  shall  wear  them." 

And  so  signed  the  death  warrant  of  Captain 
la  Garza. 

From  overhead  the  great  bell  of  the  Castle 
tolled  midnight  and  the  slow,  measured  clangor 
sounded  through  the  thick  walls  of  the  dungeon, 
like  a  mortuary  summons. 

It  was  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth  of  the 
month. 

Gradually  the  wild  laughter  of  the  prisoner 
ceased.  In  his  eyes  shone  the  light  of  battle. 
In  his  fevered  imagination  he  heard  the  rattle 
of  musketry  and  the  rasping  clash  of  steel  upon 
steel.     He  seemed  to  hear  the  roar  of  conflict 


84      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

in  the  distance, — the  curdling  grito  of  his 
troopers  as  they  swept  on  to  the  charge  and 
carnage  and  conflict. 

"  At  them,  muchachos,  at  them,"  he  shouted 
wildly.     "  For  old  Spain." 

And  he  strove  to  tear  himself  from  that 
merciless  grip  of  steel, — which  held  him  down 
— down — down — to  the  dank  floor. 

"  For  the  honor  of  old  Spain !  "  he  cried 
again  in  clear,  ringing  tones. 

And  then  died. 

With  every  faculty  strained  to  its  utmost 
tension,  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  lay  there  anx- 
iously awaiting  the  first  break  of  dawn.  All 
sorts  of  uncanny  terrors  possessed  her.  She 
missed  the  gibbering  of  the  maniac.  There 
had  been  a  sense  of  human  companionship  even 
in  that  awful,  guttural  murmuring — unintel- 
ligible though  it  was. 

Finally,  through  the  slitlike  lattice,  the  weird 
grayish  light  of  the  dawn  broke  into  the  dun- 
geon. 

With  dilated,  staring  eyes,  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza  peered  into  the  gloom  to  see  if  her  hus- 
band slept. 

And  when  she  saw  the  still,  silent  figure,  sud- 
denly came  the  realization  that  he  did  indeed 
sleep,  and  that  his  sleep  was  that  which  knows 
no  waking. 

Overcome  by  the  horror  of  it  all  she  fainted. 

The  Castle  bell  tolled  ten  o'clock,  in  mournful 
cadence. 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  85 

It  was  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth. 

In  the  Governor's  room  a  squad  of  soldiers 
were  receiving  their  instructions  as  to  the  con- 
duct of  the  execution  of  two  prisoners  of  state, 
which  was  set  for  eleven. 

Upon  the  battlements,  overlooking  the  city 
of  Vera  Cruz, — all  ignorant  of  the  preparations 
going  on  within  the  Governor's  room, — General 
Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna  paced  restlessly 
to  and  fro,  awaiting  the  coming  of  that  noon, 
which  should  restore  to  his  arms  the  woman  he 
loved. 

Along  a  dark,  ill-lighted  passage,  the  priest, 
Rafael  Aristo,  moved  rapidly.  For  time  was 
passing  quickly,  and  the  Governor  allowed  him 
only  half  an  hour  to  confess  the  prisoners. 

A  surly  turnkey  preceded  him  and  stopped 
before  Cell  No.  13,  the  lowermost  dungeon  in 
the  tier.  Inserting  a  great  key  in  the  rusty  lock 
the  turnkey  roughly  pushed  the  great  door  in- 
wards. 

The  priest,  Rafael  Aristo,  entered  the  dun- 
geon. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  looked  at  him  with 
the  hunted  look  of  an  animal  at  bay,  and  her 
whole  form  shook  with  fear. 

But  Rafael  Aristo  raised  his  hand  in  bene- 
diction, while  the  turnkey  unlocked  the  man- 
acles that  held  her  in  a  vice. 

"  Courage,  my  daughter,"  he  murmured,  "  I 
come  to  save  you.  To  restore  you  to  the  arms 
of  your  lover,  General  Santa  Anna." 

"  To  save  me  ?  "  echoed  the  lady,  like  one  in 


86      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

a  dream.  "  To  restore  me  to  General  Santa 
Anna  ?  " 

And  there  was  a  radiant  look  of  hope  upon 
her  wan  face  and  a  great  joy  in  her  eyes. 

"Yes,  my  daughter,"  continued  the  priest 
softly.  The  Viceroy  has  ordered  your  ex- 
ecution within  the  next  hour,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor is  even  now  making  his  preparations. 
This  faithful  fellow  is  a  good  Catholic  and  has 
consented  to  give  me  his  aid  in  saving  you. 
The  passage  without  leads  to  the  Santiago 
bastion,  which  is  unguarded.  A  boat  waits  us 
there.  Come,  my  daughter,  for  the  time 
presses.   Come, — to  liberty  and  to  Santa  Anna." 

And  he  supported  her  trembling  figure  upon 
his  arm. 

Together  they  followed  the  turnkey  along 
the  passage-way,  and  presently  stood  upon  the 
Santiago  bastion. 

Beneath  them  roared,  seethed,  swept,  ad- 
vanced, retreated,  the  angry  breakers.  They 
dashed  against  the  hard,  irregular  cliffs  of  San 
Juan  de  Uloa.  They  leaped  joyously,  tossing 
white  flecks  of  foam  in  air.  They  crept  again 
into  the  grander,  vaster  expanse  behind.  And 
again  advanced  in  renewed  onslaught,  upon  the 
rocky  barriers. 

Oh !  the  welcome,  soothing  roar  of  these 
whitecapped  breakers  !  The  inspiration  of  the 
salt  sea-air  ! 

The  scintillating  glint  of  the  joyous  waves 
was  reflected  by  the  sun-rays,  athwart  the 
gloomy  fortress  walls  around  and  behind  them. 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  8j 

When  the  turnkey  had  prepared  the  boat, 
the  priest  assisted  the  lady  to  a  seat  in  the 
stern  and  the  man  pushed  off,  keeping  well 
under  the  shadow  of  the  great  battlements  to 
escape  the  eyes  of  the  sentries  above. 

"  Is  it  not  glorious  to  breathe  the  salt  air  and 
to  see  grand  old  ocean  ?  "  asked  the  priest  with 
a  strange  smile  upon  his  face. 

But  the  lady  was  sobbing  from  very  excess 
of  joy. 

"  My  daughter,  if  you  look  to  the  extreme 
northern  battlement,  you  will  just  discern  the 
figure  of  a  man  standing  erect  and  looking  to- 
wards Vera  Cruz,"  continued  the  priest,  Rafael 
Aristo. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  looked,  but  made 
no  remark. 

The  priest  continued : 

"  It  is  the  rebel  General,  Antonio  Lopez  de 
Santa  Anna." 

And  seeing  the  wonder  in  the  lady's  eyes,  he 
continued  : 

"  My  daughter,  I  promised  you  a  fate,  far, 
far  worse,  than  any  death  of  which  you  could 
dream,  if  you  failed  us.  Your  imprisonment, 
in  San  Juan  de  Uloa,  was  but  the  beginning. 
The  end  was  yet  to  come.  Even  death  cannot 
cheat  the  Church  of  Rome  of  its  vengeance. 
I,  Rafael  Aristo,  have  this  day  cheated  death 
of  a  victim,  that  I  might  exact  that  retribution 
which  the  Church  demands.  Henceforth,  there 
are  but  two  persons  in  this  world — you  and 
myself.     Over  in   the   city  yonder,  two  swift 


88      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

horses  await  us.  Together  wc  will  go  to  the 
summits  of  the  Cumbres.  You  shall  live  with 
me  the  life  of  a  wild  beast,  where  no  man 
knoweth.  At  night,  your  bed  shall  be  upon  the 
open.  By  day,  we  will  climb  up,  up,  ever  up, 
and  there  shall  be  no  rest.  So  day  by  day, 
we  shall  travel  on  through  the  mesquit  and 
chaparral  of  the  Southland,  fleeing  in  terror 
from  the  wild  beasts  and  the  reptiles  every- 
where abounding.  Living  upon  the  dried  bark 
and  berries  of  the  forest.  Up,  up,  up,  and 
on,  on,  on,  until  all  reason  has  left  us  and  we 
are,  stark,  staring  mad.  Then,  perhaps  my 
heart  will  find  that  pity  which  it  now  knows 
not." 

The  priest  ceased  abruptly.  But  in  his  eyes 
was  the  fierce,  wild  glare  of  the  fanatic. 

The  woman  looked  long  into  his  face,  fas- 
cinated by  that  awful,  penetrating  stare. 

Then,  with  a  shriek  of  awful  agony,  would 
have  flung  herself  in  to  the  sea. 

But  he  felled  her  with  a  swift  blow. 

And  raising  his  hand,  said  solemnly — 

"  For  the  good  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

General  Don  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna 
saluted  indifferently  as  Captain  Berdejo  joined 
him  upon  the  ramparts  of  San  Juan  de  Uloa. 

"  You  come  from  the  north,  senor  Capitan  ?  " 
he  asked  fixing  the  other  with  a  penetrating 
glance. 

"  On  behalf  of  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy," 
replied  Captain  Berdejo  brusquely.     "  On  much 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  89 

the  same  business,  I  fancy  that  brings  the 
General  Santa  Anna  to  Vera  Cruz." 

And  Captain  Berdejo  winked  knowingly  at 
General  Santa  Anna. 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,  sefior  Captain," 
Santa  Anna  replied  coldly. 

"  Ah,  so,"  said  the  other.  Then  tapping  the 
papers  in  his  belt  he  continued  :  "  I  fancy  I 
have  the  duplicate  of  the  document  which 
brings  the  General  Santa  Anna  to  Vera  Cruz. 
His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  makes  me  his  ex- 
ecutioner and  makes  the  rebel  General  Santa 
Anna  the  custodian  of  the  dead." 

Santa  Anna  started,  restrained  himself  and, 
assuming  an  indifference  he  did  not  feel,  asked  : 

"  Executioner  ?  Ah,  I  think  I  understand — 
I  think  I  understand,  senor  Capitan.  His  Ex- 
cellency has  passed  sentence  upon  the  heretic, 
Captain  la  Garza  ?  " 

"  Not  upon  the  man  alone  but  upon  the 
woman  as  well,  General  Santa  Anna,"  replied 
Captain  Berdejo,  and  produced  the  papers  from 
his  belt.  "  See,  here  is  the  sentence  of  death 
upon  Captain  la  Garza  and  the  lady  Juana  his 
wife,  to  be  carried  out  at  eleven  o'clock  of  the 
morning  of  the  fifteenth  of  the  month.  The 
other  document  is  an  order  to  the  Governor  of 
the  Fortress  giving  into  your  custody  the  body 
of  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  at  twelve  noon  of 
the  same  day.  Well,  senor,  it  is  just  five 
minutes  to  eleven  o'clock,  and  in  five  minutes 
this  double  execution  will  take  place.  My 
troopers   are  even  now  gone  to  conduct  the 


Qo      Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

the  prisoners  to  the  ramparts.  I  am  a  soldier, 
seftor  General,  but  am  a  man  as  well,  and  being 
a  man  I  have  known  what  it  is  to  love.  I  have 
heard  of  your  love  for  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza. 
Perhaps  I  am  doing  what  is  wrong  but  I  will 
take  the  chance.  I  think  the  Viceroy  plays 
you  false.  My  duty  will  I  do,  sciior  General 
Santa  Anna,  but  it  is  my  purpose  to  offer  you 
a  last  farewell  and  a  word  in  private  with  the 
woman  you  love." 

General  Santa  Anna  took  from  the  hands  of 
the  other  the  documents  as  though  to  read 
them,  speaking  never  a  word.  Then  stepped 
to  the  extreme  end  of  the  rampart  and  whistled 
softly. 

"  What — you  do  not  accept  my  offer  ?  "  asked 
Captain  Berdejo  in  amazement.  He  thought 
the  General  Santa  Anna  was  signaling  for 
his  boatmen.     As  indeed  he  was. 

"  It  will  not  be  necessary,  seilor  Capitan," 
blandly  responded  the  rebel  General.  "  And 
yet  I  thank  you  for  the  service  you  intended." 

Two  score  of  fierce-looking  J orocho  cavalry- 
men ascended  the  ramparts  and  ranged  them- 
selves behind  their  General.  They  were  all 
armed  to  the  teeth,  their  belts  stuck  full  of  pis- 
tols, and  each  brandishing  a  heavy  saber. 

At  a  signal  from  Santa  Anna  they  took  pos- 
session of  a  battery  and  turned  the  guns  so 
that  they  commanded  every  approach  to  the 
rampart. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  queried  Captain 
Berdejo  fiercely,  his  hand  upon  his  sword-hilt. 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  91 

"  It  means  that  there  will  be  no  execution 
to-dav,  seilor  Capitan,"  smiled  Santa  Anna, 
the  gleam  of  the  devil  in  his  beady  eyes.  And 
he  spat  upon  the  papers  of  the  Viceroy  and 
threw  them  into  the  sea.  "  Santa  Anna  is 
not  quite  a  fool,  nor  did  he  trust  entirely  to 
the  Viceroy.  I  came  prepared  for  peace  or 
war.  The  Viceroy  has  declared  war.  So  be  it. 
This  battery  commands  the  powder  magazines 
of  the  Fortress.  Let  the  Governor  proceed 
with  the  execution,  sefior,  and  then " 

"  And  then gasped  Captain  Berdejo." 

"  Why  then  we'll  all  go  to  hell  together," 
sneered  Santa  Anna. 

He  would  have  said  more  but  that  the  bell 
of  the  castle  pealed  long  and  violently.  The 
Governor  of  the  Fortress  appeared  suddenly 
upon  the  ramparts  followed  by  the  officers  of 
his  staff. 

"  The  prisoners —  guard  the  prisoners  !  " 
shouted  Berdejo  as  he  rushed  towards  the 
group  of  men. 

"  The  prisoners  !  "  gasped  the  Governor, 
tremulous  with  rage.  "  The  prisoners — cospita, 
senores,  the  prisoners  have  escaped.  But,  thank 
God,  it  is  not  too  late.  Turn  the  guns  upon 
them." 

And  he  pointed  to  a  little  speck  upon  the 
water  midway  between  the  Fortress  of  San 
Juan  de  Uloa  and  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Then  for  the  first  time  became  aware  of 
General  Santa  Anna  and  his  Jorochos  at  the 
battery. 


92      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Viceroy,"  he  cried,  ad- 
vancing a  step. 

But  Santa  Anna  waved  him  back  gaily  with 
his  sword. 

"  There  is  no  longer  a  Viceroy,"  he  shouted, 
with  a  keen  note  of  triumph  in  his  voice.  "  The 
Viceroy  met  the  Emperor  Iturbide  at  Villa 
Cordova  last  night  and  capitulated.  And  mine 
be  the  first  banner  of  revolt  raised  against  these 
double  traitors.  Come,  gentlemen,  cry  with 
me:  Viva  Santa  Anna.  For  Santa  Anna  is 
master  of  Vera  Cruz  and  the  Fortress  of  San 
Juan  de  Uloa." 

Only  his  own  devoted  little  band  took  up 
the  cry. 

Santa  Anna  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  you  do  not  join  with 
me.     I  must  ask  for  3/our  swords  then." 

"  And  if  we  refuse  ?  "  asked  the  Governor 
half-heartedly. 

Santa  Anna  pointed  to  the  powder  maga- 
zines.    It  was  an  excellent  answer. 

The  Governor  and  his  officers  gave  up  their 
swords. 

Santa  Anna  turned  to  Captain  Berdejo  whose 
troopers  had  arranged  themselves  around 
him. 

"  Well,  amigo,  you  see  how  it  is,"  he  con- 
tinued kindly.  <4WTill  you  follow  the  rising 
star  of  General  Santa  Anna  ?  " 

"  My  life  and  mine  honor  are  pledged  to  my 
Viceroy,  seilor  General,"  replied  the  man. 

"  So  be  it,"  said  Santa  Anna.     "  It  is  not  my 


The  Dungeons  of  San  Juan  De  Uloa.  93 

custom  to  remain  long  in  any  man's  debt. 
You  would  have  done  me  a  service  but  a  short 
while  back.  My  obligation  I  now  discharge, 
and  give  you  your  liberty.     Go  !  " 

He  pointed  to  the  boat  in  which  he  had  come 
from  Vera  Cruz.  Saluting  stiffly  the  Captain 
Berdejo  entered  with  his  troopers  and  pushed 
off.  Once  he  looked  back  and  saw  that  the 
banner  of  the  rebel  General  Santa  Anna  had 
replaced  the  flag  of  Spain. 

At  a  meson  in  Vera  Cruz  he  procured  horses 
for  himself  and  the  troopers  of  his  party. 

"  Do  we  join  the  Viceroy  ?  "  asked  his  lieu- 
tenant, a  huge,  massive  man  with  a  great  black 
beard. 

"  Carramba,  no,"  replied  the  Captain.  "  Think 
you  I  am  a  fool  ?  We  must  follow  those  pris- 
oners and  carry  out  the  will  of  the  Viceroy 
before  Santa  Anna  sets  out  in  pursuit.  As 
soon  as  he  has  the  reinforcements  he  doubtless 
expects  he  will  set  out  after  that  woman.  I 
know  the  man." 

"  He  will  perhaps  think  she  is  safe  in  the 
hands  of  the  priest  who  compassed  her  escape," 
replied  the  lieutenant. 

"  As  she  is,  no  doubt,  until  we  overtake 
them,"  said  the  Captain. 

"  But  do  you  seek  out  a  Mestizo  guide  and 
we  will  follow  on  their  trail  even  though  it 
lead  to  the  summit  of  the  Cumbres.  For  it  is 
my  life  or  my  lady's.  So  hasten,  companero, 
the  guide  and  then — the  road  again." 

Saluting,    the  lieutenant   left  the  meson  in 


94      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

quest  of  a  Mestizo  guide  and  as  he  passed  the 
sea  wall  he  saw  upon  the  beach  many  troops  of 
Jorocho  cavalrymen  and  boat-load  after  boat- 
load setting  out  for  the  Fortress,  of  which 
Santa  Anna  was  now  master. 


For  the  Church  of  Rome.         95 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FOR  THE  GOOD  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  September, 
1821,  a  great  crush  of  people  flocked  to  the 
southern  barriers  of  the  Capitol.  There  were 
poverty-stricken  leperos,  and  dirty,  squalid 
Indians,  pressing  ever  so  closely  against  the 
closed  caleches,  through  the  openings  of  which 
timidly  peeped  the  black-robed  senoras  and 
senoritas. 

Occasionally,  an  Aguador,  with  his  great  clay 
pitcher,  strapped  upon  his  back,  and  filled  with 
fresh  water,  would  elbow  his  way  through  the 
crowd,  crying  his  monotonous  "  Agua — Agua." 

Or  a  gaily-decked  cavalier,  in  silver-bullioned 
black  jacket,  with  gold  braided  zapateros,  and 
great  sombrero,  wearing  the  colors  of  his  seft- 
orita  upon  his  arm,  and  his  gaudy  serape, 
jauntily  wrapped  around  his  gold-embossed 
saddle,  would  dig  the  rowels  of  his  spurs  into 
the  foam-flecked  sides  of  his  steed,  and  ride 
down  a  group  of  affrighted  children  or  leperos, 
to  the  great  edification  of  the  senoritas  in  the 
caleches. 

Merrily  rang  the  bells  of  the  Cathedral. 

Loud  sounded  the  petards  of  the  soldiery. 

Occasionally  a  troop  of  Rurales  would  dash 
into  the  crowd  with  a  blending  of  oaths,  and 


96      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

shouts  that  only  added  to  the  general  confu- 
sion. 

At  the  great  Portales,  flanking  the  Vera  Cruz 
road,  a  regiment  of  Jalapa  Infantry  were  drawn 
up,  the  monotony  of  their  long  wait  enlivened 
by  the  martial  music  of  the  regimental  band, 
which  was  at  times  broken  in  upon  by  the  dis- 
tant roll  of  drums,  or  the  prolonged  blowing  of 
bugles  from  a  distant  cavalry  troop. 

And  so  it  was  throughout  the  city.  In  the 
aristocratic  residence  quarter,  upon  the  over- 
hanging terraces,  could  be  caught  glimpses  of 
fat  seiioras  and  slender  seiioritas,  with  great 
wavy  hair,  falling  over  their  waists,  and  some- 
times reaching  to  the  ground.  They  were  be- 
lated risers,  but  had  not  foregone  the  custom- 
ary morning  toilet.  And  now  having  had  their 
heads  washed,  they  were  drying  their  locks. 

If  one  looked  closer  upon  the  terraces  he 
might  have  seen  some  sefiora,  of  more  embon- 
point, or  greater  laziness  than  her  sisters,  en- 
joying her  morning  chocolate  with  perhaps  a 
tortilla. 

At  the  Plaza  Mayor,  beneath  a  huge  trium- 
phal arch,  were  the  authorities  of  the  city,  in 
gorgeous  gala  uniforms — Prefects  and  Clergy, 
— then  a  band  of  white-robed  little  ones  with 
floral  pieces,  and  lastly  the  Ayuntamiento. 

The  tricolor  of  General  Iturbide  was  every- 
where in  evidence,  although  occasionally  might 
be  seen  the  cockades  of  the  Bourbons. 

In  an  old-world  gathering  of  this  kind,  one 
might  have  looked  for  more  or  less  impatience. 


For  the  Church  of  Rome.         97 

But  the  dolce  far  niente  Mejicano  rolls  his 
cigarette,  lights  it  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoul- 
ders and  smokes. 

Ayer! 

Hoy! 

Manana ! 

It  is  all  the  same.     Quien  sabe  ? 

And  so  the  good  people  of  the  Capitol 
elbowed  each  other  with  placid  smiles,  smoking 
the  while.  The  cavaliers  upon  horseback  rode 
over  the  half-naked  Indians  and  the  Indians 
laughed  and  picked  themselves  up  and  smoked 
again  as  contentedly  as  ever. 

Presently  the  great  guns  at  the  southern 
entrance  to  the  city  told  to  the  bystanders 
that  the  National  forces,  known  as  the  Army  of 
the  Three  Guarantees,  were  entering  the  Capi- 
tol. 

And  the  corpulent  senoras  intent  upon  the 
advancing  procession  and  forgetful  of  their 
dampened  hair,  shielded  their  faces  with  costly 
rebosas  of  finest  silk,  while  they  craned  their 
mustached  faces  over  the  terraces.  For  even 
in  bonito  Mexico,  some  of  the  ladies  are  pos- 
sessed of  these  luxuriant  hirsute  appendages. 

And  the  lepero  dropped  his  cigarette  to 
clamber  upon  a  caleche,  while  the  fat  senoras 
with  the  chocolate  and  tortillas,  too  fat  to  crane 
over  the  terraces  could  only  spill  their  choco- 
late and  becrumb  their  tortillas  and  fume  and 
fret  and  wriggle,  in  vain  endeavor  to  see  the 
plumes  at  least  of  the  passing  soldiery. 

The  regiment  of  chasseurs  in  green  and  gold 
7 


98      Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

passed  by,  followed  successively  by  the  troops 
of  dragoons  and  hussars.  Then  came  a  proces- 
sion of  black-robed  priests  with  banners  and 
chasubles,  chanting  aTe  Deum.  And  then  the 
dusky,  bronzed  fellows  of  old  Guerrero  and  the 
Indianos  of  Guadalupe  Victoria.  Then  the 
fierce-looking,  "  Scarlet  regiment  "  of  General 
Iturbide,  the  great  black  plumes  upon  their 
helmets,  waving  responsive  to  the  breeze,  their 
facings  of  gold  braid,  setting  jauntily  upon  the 
scarlet,  and  each  pair  of  mustaches  bristling 
fiercely.  And  they  were  greeted  with  applause 
more  than  all  the  others  because  they  were  the 
regiment  of  the  Liberator  General. 

Alone  were  absent  the  Jorochos,  the  wiry, 
rough  riders  of  the  South,  the  daring  cavalry 
of  General  Santa  Anna,  who,  resting  on  their 
arms  in  the  Southland,  awaited  only  the  word 
of  their  chief,  to  make  a  dash  against  the  forces 
of  the  Liberator. 

And  so  the  troops  passed  on  through  the 
streets  of  the  Capitol  cheered  on  every  side. 

Some  distance  behind,  came  a  high,  covered 
diligence,  drawn  by  ten  sturdy  mules  with  silver 
trappings,  and  driven  by  a  fierce-looking  fellow 
with  a  rough  jacket,  of  skins,  and  goat  zapa- 
teros,  his  head  protected  by  a  bullioned  som- 
brero. For  outriders  there  were  four  buglers, 
who  sounded  the  approach  of  their  Excellen- 
cies— the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  and  the  Liberator 
General  Agustin  de  Iturbide. 

For  a  final  battle  had  been  fought,  and  the 
Viceroy,    when    his    forces   had    been    driven 


For  the  Church  of  Rome.         99 

almost  to  the  sea,  had  met  his  victorious  oppo- 
nent at  Villa  Cordova,  and  drawn  up  a  joint 
treaty,  providing  for  a  Regency  of  Mexico, 
until  Spain  should  affirm  or  repudiate  the  con- 
tract. 

Surrounding  the  coach,  rode  the  swarthy- 
looking,  gorgeously  uniformed  suite  of  His 
Excellency,  while  within  the  diligencia,  were 
seated  General  Iturbide,  the  Viceroy,  and  Da- 
halia  Santa  Anna. 

When  the  people  beheld  them  there  were 
shouts  of  rejoicing,  and  the  bright  cockades, 
tossed  high  in  air,  made  a  most  tasty  ensemble 
of  color.  The  noise  of  rejoicing  was  such  that 
their  Excellencies  could  only  doff  their  cha- 
peaus  and  bow. 

Under  the  great  arch  at  the  Plaza  Mayor  the 
Ayuntamiento  solemnly  presented  General 
Iturbide  with  the  keys  of  the  Capitol.  As 
solemnly  the  Liberator  embraced  the  civic 
officers. 

The  diligencia  then  moved  on  and  drew  up 
before  the  Government  Palace.  The  last  of 
the  Viceroys  descended,  followed  by  Iturbide 
and  Dahalia. 

The  Clergy  of  the  city,  headed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop, in  gorgeous  sacerdotal  vestments,  all 
chanting  a  Te  Deum,  preceded  their  Excel- 
lencies and  suites  into  the  gloomy  corridors  of 
the  Palacio  to  the  grand  Salon  of  Ambassadors, 
where  a  magnificent  banquet  was  in  waiting. 

Upon  the  walls  of  this  great  Salon,  with  its 
tapestry  hangings,  hung  a  choice  collection  of 


ioo    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

oils  from  celebrated  old  world  masters,  portraits 
of  Charles  V.,  Ferdinand  VII.,  Hernan  Cortez, 
and  of  many  of  the  Viceroys. 

Upon  the  spacious  tables,  loaded  down  with 
every  delicacy,  were  great  pyramids  of  native 
fruits, — platanos,  ananas,  papayas,  and  zapotes, 
— all  intermingled.  And  there  were  crys- 
tal carafes  of  the  choicest  wines,  and  great 
bowls  of  ices  from  Popocatapetl.  The  service 
of  silver  plate  was  rich  and  heavy  and  bore  the 
royal  arms  of  the  Bourbons.  Large,  fragrant 
bouquets  were  at  every  plate. 

The  courses  were  long  and  tedious,  but  Itur- 
bide presided  with  much  patience,  although 
manifestly  fatigued  and  perturbed. 

During  the  banquet,  a  party  of  boys  and 
girls  delighted  the  eyes  of  the  guests  with  a 
measured,  rhythmical  Tertulia,  to  the  slow,  soft 
accompaniment  of  mandolins  and  guitars.  And 
when  they  finally  began  the  steps  of  La  Haba- 
nera, a  dance  as  dear  to  the  Mexicans  as  was 
the  minuet  to  the  hearts  of  the  Colonial  dames, 
there  was  one  great  round  of  applause.  It  was 
during  the  enthusiasm  incident  upon  La  Ha- 
banera that  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy,  Gen- 
eral Iturbide,  and  Dahalia,  made  their  egress 
from  the  Salon  of  Ambassadors  to  the  scarlet 
library  of  the  Viceroys. 

A  kindly-faced,  stately-looking  woman,  in  a 
fashionable  evening  costume,  was  telling  her 
rosary  in  a  secluded  room  of  the  Palace  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Mexico. 


For  the  Church  of  Rome.       101 

The  time  was  evening. 

From  the  National  Palace,  some  distance 
away,  she  could  hear  a  military  band  discours- 
ing patriotic  airs.  And  her  heart  was  glad. 
For  Madame  de  Iturbide  had  come  by  special 
diligence,  post-haste,  from  her  villa  at  Valla- 
dolid  to  see  her  husband's  triumphant  entry 
into  the  Capitol. 

The  stately,  saintlike  woman  had  felt  no 
twinge  of  suspicion  or  jealousy  at  her  husband's 
seeming  neglect,  since  she  knew  that  he  was  a 
soldier  of  Mexico. 

A  door  leading  into  the  apartment  opened 
and  one  of  the  ladies  in  waiting  entered  noise- 
lessly and  stood  respectfully  until  her  mistress 
should  speak. 

"  Approach,  Nita,"  said  Madame  de  Iturbide 
kindly. 

"  Sefiora,  His  Eminence  the  Archbishop  of 
Mexico,  Cardinal  del  Fonte,  attended  by  his 
seven  suffragans,  craves  an  audience." 

"  I  will  see  him,  Nita,"  said  Madame  de  Itur- 
bide, and  the  girl  withdrew. 

A  moment  later  the  Archbishop  entered, 
looking  grandly  severe  in  his  red  simar  and 
laces. 

His  Eminence  raised  his  hand  in  benediction 
over  Madame  de  Iturbide. 

"  I  have  brought  my  suite  as  an  escort  for 
you,  Madame." 

"  As  an  escort  ?  I  fail  to  understand,  your 
Eminence,"  murmured  Madame  de  Iturbide. 

"  To  conduct  you  to  the  Imperial  Palace," 


102    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

replied  the  Archbishop.  "  Since  your  husband 
comes  not  to  you,  it  is  obvious  that  you  must 
go  to  him  and  assume  your  proper  place  at  his 
side." 

"  He  is  busied  with  affairs  of  state,"  said 
Madame  de  Iturbide.  "  And  will  come  to  me 
at  his  own  good  time." 

"  Say  rather  with  affairs  of  love,  Madame," 
replied  his  Eminence  gently.  "  Few  secrets 
can  be  hidden  from  the  Church,  and  I  say  that 
if  it  is  not  already  too  late,  it  is  your  duty  to 
save  your  husband  from  dishonor.  God  knows, 
I  would  have  spared  you  this.  But  the  path 
of  duty  forces  me  to  speak,  though  rather 
plainly.  Your  husband,  though  admittedly  a 
great  man  in  those  affairs  pertaining  to  the 
sword  and  politics,  is  weak  where  it  comes  to 
his  affections.  For  some  months  he  has  been 
thrown  into  constant  association  with  the 
Senorita  Dahalia  Santa  Anna." 

"Yes,"  gasped  Madame  de  Iturbide,  paling 
and  pressing  her  hand  to  her  side. 

"  And  under  the  promise  of  a  marriage  he 
can  never  fulfil  he  is  leading  the  girl  on  to  her 
ruin.  You  alone  can  save  her  to-night  by  tak- 
ing your  proper  place  at  your  husband's  side. 
So  come,  Madame,  and  tear  the  veil  from  this 
young  girl's  eyes.  Then,  if  I  know  the  Santa 
Annas,  her  love  will  turn  to  hate,  and  she  will 
leave  the  man  who  has  attainted  her  young 
name  with  dishonor.  She  will  leave  him  and 
go  to  her  brother  in  the  Southland." 

"  And  when   she  has  told   him  all,  turn  the 


For  the  Church  of  Rome.       103 

forces  of  Santa  Anna,  like  unleashed  bull-dogs, 
upon  my  husband,"  added  Madame  de  Iturbide. 
— "  And  with  Santa  Anna  and  Iturbide  arrayed 
against  each  other,  the  forces  of  the  Viceroy 
will  easily  recover  their  lost  ground,  and  the 
liberty  of  Mexico,  crushed  to  earth,  will  be  but 
a  short-lived  dream.  Ah,  no,  no,  it  shall  not  be 
the  wife  of  the  Liberator  General  that  sets 
upon  him  the  cavalry  of  Santa  Anna  in  the 
South,  in  the  hour  of  his  triumph.  It  is  far,  far 
better  that  I  return  to  the  solitude  of  my  villa, 
and  suffer  my  husband  to  exhaust  this  fleeting 
passion.  Time  and  time  alone  will  bring 
Agustin  back  to  me,  and  until  then  my  love 
must   rest  in  abeyance  for  the  good  of  Mexico." 

''And  I  say  that  your  love  must  assert  itself 
this  night  for  the  good  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,"  said  the  Archbishop,  sternly,  his  eyes 
shining  with  the  wild  light  of  fanaticism.  For 
the  Archbishop  knew  that,  when  Santa  Anna 
should  once  raise  the  banner  of  rebellion,  the 
cause  of  Iturbide  was  irrevocably  lost,  and  the 
Viceroy, — puppet  of  the  Church, — would  come 
into  his  own  again. 

"  For  the  good  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ?  " 
gasped  Madame  de  Iturbide. 

"  Yes,  seiiora,"  said  His  Eminence,  sternly, 
"  and  if  you  separate  not  this  man  and  this 
woman,  the  one  from  the  other,  to-night, — por 
Dios,  I'll  hurl  against  your  husband's  cause  the 
bans  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  I  need  not 
tell  you  that  the  cause  of  the  excommunicated 
is  a  lost  cause." 


104    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  Ah — Dios — excommunication,"  shrieked 
Madame  de  Iturbide.  "  No,  no,  not  that,  not 
that, — I  will  bow  to  the  will  of  your  Emi- 
nence,— even  though  it  means  my  husband's 
everlasting  hate." 

"  Come,  then,  Madame,"  said  the  Archbishop. 
And  there  was  the  light  of  triumph  in  his  eyes 
as  he  gently  took  her  hand  in  his  and  led  her 
to  the  door.  "  Come  to  the  Palace  and  order 
this  girl  from  your  husband's  presence.  It  is 
now  half-past  eight.  We  should  reach  the 
Imperial  Palace  at  nine.  And  be  brave,  my 
daughter,  be  brave.  Remember  that  what  you 
are  about  to  do  is  for  the  good  of  the  Church 
of  Rome." 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman-Hater.    105 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  A  WOMAN-HATER. 

UPON  the  highest  portion  of  the  Mexican 
Cordilleras,  far  above  the  cloud  line,  the  vegeta- 
tion is  sparse  and  scattered,  and  the  only  relief 
from  the  monotony  and  bleakness  all  abound- 
ing, are  occasional  patches  of  pitiful,  half-dried 
magueys,  interspersed  with  mesquit  or  half- 
nourished  nopal.  The  mountain  peaks  of  the 
Cumbres  consist  of  a  series  of  barrancas,  with 
scarce  a  footpath  for  the  wolf  or  mountain 
lion,  let  alone  for  man. 

Yet  on  a  certain  moonlight  night  in  the  early 
fall,  two  human  figures  crouched  before  a 
scant  fire  on  the  highest  peak  of  the  Cumbres. 
Two  figures — a  man  and  a  woman — both  gaunt 
and  haggard,  from  long  exposure  to  the  ele- 
ments. Their  garments  were  torn  and  tattered 
to  threads,  from  contact  with  the  underbrush 
of  the  Cumbres.  Their  feet  were  bare,  cut 
and  bleeding.  The  moon  smiled  serenely  down 
upon  the  mountain  tops,  and  by  its  clear  light 
could  be  seen  far  below,  endless  slopes  and  the 
tropic  vegetation  of  the  lowlands.  But  above 
was  nothing  but  the  cloudless  sky,  star-flecked 
and  clear,  and  seeming  to  cry  out  upon  the 
pitiful  works  of  man. 

The  woman  gnawed  at  a  piece  of  dried  bark 


106    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

with   the   ravenous    interest   of  a    wild    beast. 
The  man   crouched  close  over  the   feeble  fire. 

"  1  am  cold,"  he  muttered  with  chattering 
teeth.     "  Cold— cold— cold." 

But  the  woman  gnawed  at  the  bark  and  paid 
no  attention. 

"  I  am  cold,"  repeated  the  man,  and  this 
time  he  struck  her  across  the  face  with  his  whip. 

Mechanically  the  woman  removed  the  faded 
scarlet  vest  she  wore  and  handed  him.  He 
wrapped  it  around  his  shoulders  and  continued 
to  crouch  over  the  fire,  cursing  and  muttering 
to  himself. 

And  the  woman  gnawed  at  the  bark. 

A  great  shaking  came  upon  the  man  and  his 
teeth  came  together  like  castanets. 

"  I  am  cold,"  he  repeated  again.  And  again 
he  struck  her.  She  removed  her  soft,  embroi- 
dered chemise,  and  this  also  she  wrapped  around 
him.  Save  for  a  tattered  silk  petticoat,  and 
an  undergarment  of  merino,  the  body  of  the 
woman  was  exposed  entirely  to  the  crisp,  biting 
winds  of  the  uplands.  And  yet  she  did  not 
seem  to  mind  the  bleak,  piercing  blasts,  but 
gnawed  at  the  strip  of  bark  incessantly.  Upon 
the  beautiful  back  with  its  rounded  curves  ac- 
centuated in  the  play  of  the  moonbeams,  great 
welts,  livid  and  marked,  stood  out.  But  upon 
the  woman's  face,  which  had  once  been  strik- 
ingly beautiful,  suffering  had  placed  a  restful- 
ness  that  gave  a  glimpse  into  the  hereafter  and 
made  her  seem  as  one  of  those  of  whom  the 
poet  said : 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman -Hater.    107 

"  One  spirit  in  them  ruled,  and  every  eye 
Glared  lightning  and  shot  forth  pernicious  fire 
Among  the  accursed,  that  withered  all  their  strength, 
And  of  their  wonted  vigor  left  them  drained, 
Exhausted,  spiritless,  afflicted,  fallen." 

Out  on  the  night  air  resounded  a  pitiful, 
prolonged  wail,  like  the  cry  of  a  lost  soul,  or 
the  plaintive  tremor  of  a  little  child.  And  the 
woman  shivered,  though  not  from  the  cold, 
and  with  trembling  hands  added  fuel  to  the 
flames.  For  the  cry  was  that  of  the  coyote, 
midnight  marauder,  whose  baleful  eyes  peered 
ravenously  from  the  mesquit  of  the  barranca 
upon  the  two  intruders  upon  the  silent  moun- 
tain wilderness, — the  coyote  whose  sharp, 
ravenous  teeth  were  only  balked  of  their  feast 
of  human  flesh,  by  the  flickering  light  of  the 
camp-fire. 

Oblivious  to  the  woman  and  the  coyote,  the 
man  sank  down  beside  the  fire  and  fell  into  a 
troubled  slumber.  And  even  in  his  sleep  he 
tossed  and  shook  and  moaned  and  cried  out 
upon  the  cold.  For  the  fever  of  the  hot  lands, 
bred  of  the  miasma  of  the  Cumbres,  was  upon 
him  and  his  mind  was  wandering. 

All  night  the  woman  sat  by  the  feeble  fire, 
dry  eyed  and  careless,  mechanically  adding 
fuel,  when  it  died  down,  and  gnawing  at  her 
strip  of  bark.  And  all  unconscious  of  her 
nakedness. 

Once  when  the  wind  was  cutting,  with  a 
more  than  usual  fierceness,  she  loosed  the 
gray-streaked,    heavy,   luxuriant    tresses,    and 


io8    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

they  fell,  in  great  profusion,  clown  and  around 
her  shoulders  giving  her  the  appearance  of  a 
wild,  affrighted  nymph  of  the  forest.  So 
through  the  night. 

Gradually,  over  the  surface  of  the  neighbor- 
ing barrancas,  appeared  the  first  luminous 
streaks  of  the  morning  and  the  woman  was 
glad,  for  the  night  had  been  a  night  of  horror. 
High  in  the  east  appeared  the  rose-red  sun, 
and  the  early  morning  breezes,  ascending  from 
below,  brought  with  them  the  fragrant  aroma 
of  the  wild  lupins  and  marigolds,  from  the 
primeval  stretch  of  woodland  below.  Once  a 
tiny  guardia-bosque,  having  soared  higher  than 
his  wont,  flitted  timidly  near  the  woman,  who 
glanced  at  his  rich  blue  plumage,  with  lack- 
luster eyes. 

Only  the  foolish  babbling  of  the  sleeping 
man  seemed  to  arouse  her,  as  he  moaned  and 
tossed  in  his  fever  like  a  great  helpless  infant. 

She  mechanically  seized  his  great  shovel 
hat,  which  had  fallen  from  his  head,  and 
clambering,  with  a  recently-acquired  agility, 
from  rock  to  rock,  she  swept  into  it  with  her 
little  hand  stagnant  water  lurking  in  their 
crevices.  Then  gathering  the  little  berries 
from  the  dwarfed  mesquit  bushes,  all-abound- 
ing, she  crushed  them  into  a  pulp,  with  her 
slender,  delicate  fingers,  and  tossed  them  into 
the  hat  with  the  water. 

Then  she  aroused  her  companion,  who 
glared  at  her  with  listless,  apathetic  eyes  and 
placed  the  hat  to  his  lips  that  he  might  drink, 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman  Hater.    109 

while  with  her  other  hand  she  stroked  his 
matted  locks,  and  murmured  sweet  empty 
nothings  in  his  ears. 

For  she  was  a  woman.  And  more,  she  had 
suffered  in  the  dungeons  of  San  Juan  de 
Uloa. 

When  he  had  taken  a  long,  deep  draught  of 
the  concoction,  he  handed  her  the  hat  and 
sank  down  to  sleep  again.  And  the  woman 
gnawed  her  bark,  and  drank  some  of  the 
nauseous  stuff  and  then  sat  there  rubbing  the 
man's  fevered  head.  So  the  day  passed.  And 
then  another  night  of  horror.  And  then 
another  day. 

Still  the  man  rolled  and  tossed,  but  mani- 
fested less  delirium.  Her  hand  upon  his  fore- 
head seemed  to  exercise  a  cooling,  soothing 
influence. 

Once,  as  she  bended  over  him,  she  saw  in 
his  belt  a  stiletto,  such  as  priests  were  wont 
to  carry  in  the  troublous  times  of  war.  A 
baneful  light  came  into  her  eyes,  for  her 
memory  was  awakened.  And  she  grasped 
it  by  the  hilt,  and  drew  it  from  its  sheath. 

With  an  effort  she  poised  it  over  his  head. 

The  fever-stricken  man  was  talking  in  his 
sleep  and  the  woman  paused  to  listen.  There 
was  time  enough  for  vengeance. 

"  Viva  Mejico — The  Church  of  Rome — hasta 
la  eternidad — the  Church  of  Rome." 

The  stiletto    dropped     from    the   woman's 
hand. 

"  No — no — I  cannot  murder  a  delirious  man, 


no    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

even  though  he  has  been  my  worst  enemy,"  she 
muttered,  and  resumed  her  lonely  vigil  at  his 
side. 

Upon  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  the 
light  of  reason  came  to  Rafael  Aristo.  He 
looked  upon  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  and  there 
was  sadness  in  his  eyes. 

"  Oh  !  I  have  dreamed  such  horrible  accursed 
dreams,"  he  moaned  feebly.  "  Blood — blood — 
blood,  and  the  smoke  of  battle,  the  cries  of 
dying  men,  patriot  and  royalist  locked  in 
fierce  embrace,  all  have  I  seen  in  mine  awful, 
terrifying  visions.  And  then  I  have  seen  the 
sabers  of  the  patriot  chiefs  turned  upon  each 
other,  and  seen  their  armies  driven  to  inevi- 
table destruction,  by  internecine  strife  and 
petty  jealousies.  Sometimes  a  momentary 
flash  of  reason  revealed  to  me  an  angel,  bend- 
ing over  me  and  stroking  my  aching  head. 
And  when  I  looked  into  the  face  of  my  be- 
neficent genius  I  saw  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza, 
and,  just  behind  her,  the  face  of  my  dear  old 
mother,  stern  and  angry, — who  shook  her  gray 
head  in  menace,  and  drew  under  her  protect- 
ing arm  the  form  of  my  good  angel.  Oh,  my 
lady,  take  up  the  stiletto,  and  kill  me,  for  I 
have  well  deserved  it  after  the  long  weeks  of 
hell  I  have  caused  you." 

"  I  forgive  you  all,  Rafael  Aristo,"  said  his 
companion  sadly,  "  for  you  too  have  suffered." 
And  the  eyes  of  the  priest  were  wet  with 
moisture,  and  very  humbly  he  kissed  her 
hand. 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman-Hater,    in 

Quick  passed  the  day  and  after  it  another. 
And  with  the  coming  of  yet  another  day  the 
priest  was  stronger  and  sought  in  many  ways 
how  he  might  make  more  comfortable  his 
companion. 

For  the  first  time  since  his  convalescence, 
he  noticed  that  her  bosom  and  beautiful 
shoulders  were  devoid  of  covering.  Just 
between  her  two  milk-white  breasts,  he  saw 
a  green  bag  suspended  from  her  neck  by  a 
slender  gold  chain,  and  he  remembered  that 
she  was  a  daughter  of  the  Church. 

As  he  bended  almost  touching  her,  the  vola- 
tile, sensuous  woman  aroma,  emanating  from 
her  palpitating  bosom,  entered  into  his  nostrils 
and  filled  him  with  a  feeling,  strange,  new  and 
indescribable.  A  dainty  wisp  from  her  beau- 
tiful tresses,  brushed  his  forehead  and  sent  a 
savory  thrill  throughout  his  trembling  form. 

"  Kill  me — kill  me  !  "  he  cried,  tearing  him- 
self by  an  almost  superhuman  effort  of  the  will, 
from  the  first  animal  instinct  engendered  by 
the  love  of  woman,  and  regarding  her  with 
hungry,  wistful,  devouring  eyes.  Then  for  the 
first  time  noticing  the  great  livid  welts  upon  her 
shoulders, — welts  that  he  himself  had  caused 
in  his  mad  delirium  he  drew  her  forcibly  to 
him,  and  although  she  struggled  frantically  in 
his  fierce  embrace,  he  rained  down  upon  her 
swanlike  neck,  a  passionate,  ardent  shower  of 
hot,  fevered,  burning,  soulful  kisses. 

"  Love  me — love  me !  "  he  cried,  in  an 
agony  of  emotion, — pressing  her  the  closer  to 


ii2    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

him,  while  the  red  blush,  of  shame  circled  her 
cheeks  in  a  hectic  flush  making  her  seem  like 
that  Juana  la  Garza  who  had  held  sway  at 
Apodaca's  court,  as  the  most  beautiful  woman 
in  Mexico. 

"  Release  me — release  me  !  "  she  panted, 
breathing  heavily.  "  Else  by  the  Mother  of 
God,  your  stiletto  shall  bury  my  shame- 
Remember — you  are  a  priest  of  the  Church  of 
Rome." 

"  Love  me — love  me  !  "  panted  Rafael  Aristo 
tearfully.  "  You  have  awakened  within  me  my 
manhood — your  contact  tells  me  that  there  is 
something  more  to  live  for  than  the  Church — 
the  love  of  woman.  Love  me — love  me — and 
I  swear  by  the  Virgin  that  I  will  make  up  to 
you  the  loss  of  Santa  Anna.  I  am  a  Jesuit  and 
can  sway  these  puppets  at  will.  You  shall 
have  wealth,  position,  and  all  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  can  give.  Outwardly  I  will  be  what 
the  world  demands — the  sleek  and  unctuous 
Churchman,  but  for  your  sake  that  I  can  give 
to  my  mistress  all  that  she  could  ask  and  more, 
for  your  sake,  I  will  forswear  my  vow  of  celi- 
bacy and  condemn  my  soul  to  eternal  hell  here- 
after, my  love,  my  life." 

And  once  again  he  showered  his  burning, 
passionate  kisses  upon  her  palpitating  bosom. 
But  she  repulsed  him  and  would  have  snatched 
the  stiletto  but  that  the  love-frenzied,  amorous 
priest  bore  her  to  the  ground  and  holding  her 
in  tight  embrace  pressed  his  hot,  fevered  lips 
against  hers. 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman -Hater.    113 

"  Love  me — love  me  !  "  he  gasped  hoarsely 
and  drew  her  closer  to  him.  But  the  woman 
struggled,  and  struggling  there  upon  the  moun- 
tain-top her  skirt  and  kirtle  became  detached 
and  fell  to  the  ground.  For  the  first  time  in 
all  his  life  Rafael  Aristo  beheld  all  the  gloried 
outlines  of  one  of  Nature's  masterpieces — a 
woman  in  the  nude.  The  ivory  white,  palpita- 
ting breasts,  the  rounded  hips,  superb  in  every 
contour,  the  thin,  tapering  waist  of  a  Venus 
de*  Medici,  the  glorious,  statuesque  limbs,  all 
awakened  in  the  man  a  thousand  devils.  The 
rose-red  umbilic  circlet,  a  beautiful  little  dot  in 
the  linea  alba  half  hidden  by  the  rising  and 
falling  of  the  muscular  creases,  acted  upon 
Rafael  Aristo  as  a  fetich,  and  he  drank  in  the 
wondrous  beauty  of  the  woman  with  eyes  star- 
ing, fixed.  Once  in  the  long  ago,  in  Rome,  he 
remembered  having  seen  among  the  paintings 
of  the  old  masters,  just  such  another  little 
navel  which  had  held  him  spellbound,  until  he 
brought  himself  to  the  realization  that  his  fe- 
tich was  only  a  creation  upon  canvas.  Now 
the  old  sensation  was  reawakened  within  him. 
There  is  in  every  woman  an  inherent  attribute 
of  mind  or  body  which  never  fails  to  act  as  an 
irresistible  charm  upon  men.  The  resonant 
chord  in  the  mind  of  Rafael  Aristo  was  touched 
by  the  perfect,  dimpling  umbilic  of  the  woman 
before  him.  He  would  have  conquered  her  but 
for  the  weakness  in  which  his  fever  had  left 
him.  As  it  was,  exhausted,  he  fell  back  weak 
and  trembling,  his  whole  form  quivering  with 
8 


H4    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

newly  enkindled    emotion.     Amorous    though 
weak,  he  could  only  look  and  look  and  look. 

The  woman  grasped  the  stiletto,  yet  mind- 
ful of  her  nakedness  quickly  veiled  all  the 
wondrous  loveliness  of  Nature  with  her  kirtle. 
And  her  cheeks  were  flaming — hot.  For  the 
lady  Juana  La  Garza  was  not  yet  wholly 
wanton. 

"  Ah  God — relieve  me  of  this  love  fever,  else 
I  perish,"  gasped  the  priest  with  quivering 
lips. 

"  It  is  your  punishment,"  said  the  woman 
sternly.  "  'Tis  but  a  few  years,  since  I  was  a 
pure,  innocent  child-woman,  happy  in  my  hus- 
band's love  and  you — pimp  and  pander  of  the 
Viceroy  that  you  were — you  forced  me  to 
sacrifice  my  honor  for  the  good  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  But  know  that  the  very  hell  on 
earth  you  have  caused  me  to  suffer,  in  the  last 
few  months,  has  cleansed  my  soul  and  made 
me  something  more  than  a  thoughtless  toy  to 
gratify  man's  lust  in  the  pleasure  of  the  mo- 
ment. It  remained  for  you,  Rafael  Aristo,  to 
make  me  ashamed  that  I  am  a  daughter  of  the 
Church.     But  I  will  end  it  all  now." 

And  she  pressed  the  point  of  the  stiletto 
upon  her  palpitating  bosom. 

"  Stop — stop  !  "  cried  the  priest  with  alarm  in 
his  eyes. 

"  Then  swear  by  your  hope  of  eternal  salva- 
tion to  speak  no  word  of  love  to  me  again," 
said  the  lady  Juana  La  Garza  earnestly. 

"  I  swear  it  by  the  Virgin,"  replied  Rafael 


The  Conversion  of  a  Woman-Hater.    115 

Aristo,  crossing  himself  and  looking  at  her  with 
fearful,  anxious  eyes. 

She  threw  the  stiletto  upon  the  ground. 

"  Henceforth  I  am  your  sworn  slave — you 
have  but  to  command  and  I  obey,"  continued 
the  priest. 

"  I  shall  trust  you,"  said  the  lady  Juana  La 
Garza.  "  Do  you  know  where  the  Convent  of 
Santa  Teresa  lies  from  here  ?  " 

"  Some  leagues  below,  in  the  foothills,"  re- 
plied the  priest.  "  I  think  I  can  find  the  way. 
Yet  assuredly  you  will  not  become  a  veiled  nun 
and  immure  your  beauty   in  a   living  tomb  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  the  lady.  "  My  beauty 
has  been  to  me  a  fatal  curse  and  I  am  awearied 
of  the  world  and  its  intrigues.  I  sigh  only  for 
some  secluded  spot  where  the  veil  will  hide  my 
features  from  the  lustful  gaze  of  men." 

11  But  this  is  wrong,"  said  the  priest,  "and  I 
will  not  permit  it." 

"  Remember  your  oath,"  said  the  lady. 

"  I  do  and  already  I  repent  it,"  said  the  priest, 
mournfully. 

The  lady  la  Garza,  again  picked  up  the 
stiletto.  But  Rafael  Aristo,  with  difficulty 
rising  to  his  feet,  said  : 

"  Since  you  wish  it  we  will  go  to  the  Convent 
of  Santa  Teresa." 

"  You  are  too  wTeak  at  present,"  said  the 
lady. 

"We  must  go  nevertheless,"  he  replied. 

"  And  why  ?  "  asked  the  lady. 

For  answer  he  pointed  to  the  slopes  below. 


n6    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

His  keen  Indian  eyes  had  detected  what  the 
lady  would  not  have  noticed. 

She  shaded  her  eyes  with  her  hand. 

Far  down  the  Cumbres  the  rays  of  the  early 
morning  sun  fell  upon  the  black  plumed  helmets 
of  a  few  blue-jacketed  troopers,  who  were  with 
difficulty  making  the  ascent  behind  a  Mestizo 
guide. 

"  The  troopers  of  the  Viceroy  are  coming  to 
carry  out  the  sentence  of  death,  from  which  I 
saved  you  at  Vera  Cruz.  But  we  will  baffle 
them.  Once  in  the  Convent  of  Santa  Teresa, 
you  are  saved.  For  they  dare  not  profane  the 
house  of  God." 

"  They  will  not  hesitate  to  follow  me  even 
into  the  sanctuary  if  the  Viceroy  wills  it,"  re- 
plied the  lady  wearily  ;  "  for  the  Viceroy  has 
no  heart  nor  does  he  fear  God,  man  or  devil. 
His  vengeance  will  never  rest  until  I  have  been 
sacrificed.  But  we  will  nevertheless  attempt  to 
evade  these  men  who  have  been  so  long  pur- 
suing us.  For  I  do  not  think  I  am  quite  ready 
to  die  just  yet." 

"  Come  then,"  said  the  priest,  "  for  I  am 
now  become  a  man,  and  for  the  love  of  woman, 
which  I  have  never  known  until  now,  I  would 
peril  my  very  soul.  You  shall  be  saved,  though 
all  the  armies  of  the  Viceroy  and  all  the  devils 
in  hell  were  pursuing,  for  the  Church  of  Rome 
protects  you." 

And  taking  her  little  hand  in  his  he  led  her 
on  through  the  chaparral  of  the  barranca,  and 
away  from  the  helmcted  dragoons  on  the  slopes 
below. 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  117 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  COMPLIMENTS  OF  GENERAL  SANTA  ANNA. 

The  old  clock  in  the  Imperial  Palace  was 
giving  its  measured  tick,  tick,  tick,  tick,  as  it 
had  ticked  for  the  sixty-seven  Spanish  Viceroys, 
as  it  had  ticked  for  Don  Juan  Apodaca,  on  his 
last  night  of  power — so  now  it  was  ticking 
for  the  last  of  the  Excellencies  and  for  General 
Agustin  de  Iturbide,  the  man  of  the  future, 
and  for  Dahalia  Santa  Anna.  There  were  the 
same  somber  scarlet  tapestries,  the  same  somber 
mahogany  furniture  with  its  scarlet  upholster- 
ings,  the  same  onyx  inlaid  table,  with  its  state 
papers,  the  great  secret  panel  with  hidden 
spring,  known  only  to  the  last  of  the  Viceroys. 

The  hands  of  the  old  clock  pointed  to  a 
quarter  to  eight. 

Dahalia  was  curled  upon  a  divan,  in  a  dis- 
tant corner  of  the  library,  a  kind  of  oratory, 
which  shut  her  off  from  the  main  apartment. 
She  was  reading  Don  Quixote,  and  its  pages 
did  not  evidently  interest  her  greatly,  for  from 
listening  to  the  faint  hum  of  the  two  Generals 
in  conversation,  she  fell  gradually  into  a  doze. 
She  was  fatigued,  for  the  last  few  days  had  been 
most  taxing  upon  all  the  party. 


n8    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

El  Generalissimo  Agustin  de  Iturbide  was 
perusing  a  war  map.  His  Excellency  the 
Viceroy  was  seated  by  a  small  table,  upon  which 
was  a  decanter  with  glasses,  and  a  silver  brazero, 
of  live  coals,  from  which  he  lighted  many  cigars, 
for  His  Excellency  was  a  great  smoker. 

"  I  must  conciliate  Santa  Anna,"  said  Itur- 
bide thoughtfully. 

"  Of  necessity,  for  he  can  be  useful,"  replied 
His  Excellency.  "  But  how  will  you  bring  it 
about?" 

"  By  creating  him  a  General  of  the  Southern 
provinces  and  conferring  upon  him  my  cross 
of  the  Order  of  Guadalupe,"  replied  Itur- 
bide. 

"  Cospita,  senor  Generalissimo,"  said  the 
Viceroy,  blowing  a  great  cloud  of  smoke  from 
his  cigar.  "  Think  you  a  commission  and  a 
decoration  will  repay  a  man  like  Santa  Anna 
for  the  loss  of  his  sister's  honor  ?  " 

Iturbide  started  as  though  to  have  made  some 
sharp  retort,  then  remembering  that  the  Vice- 
roy was  his  guest  he  controlled  himself  and 
finally  said  : 

"Your  Excellency  joins  with  the  world  in 
condemning  what  is  little  more  than  a  Platonic 
association." 

"  Because  I  believe  with  the  world  that  such 
a  relationship,  between  a  man  and  a  woman  is 
impossible,"  said  the  Viceroy  frankly. 

"  And  yet  when  I  assure  you  on  my  honor 
as  a  gentleman  of  Mexico  that  never  in  thought 
or  act  have  I  failed  in  the  trust  bestowed  upon 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  119 

me  by  General  Santa  Anna,  when  I  assure  you 
that  Dahalia,  his  sister,  is  as  pure  as  when  I  first 
met  her " 

"  I  believe  you,  on  such  assurance,"  said  the 
Viceroy,  "  but  the  world — and  Santa  Anna 
himself — ah,  my  friend,  you  will  find  it  less  easy 
to  convince  them." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door. 

"  Pase  !  "  said  Iturbide,  rising.  A  chasseur  of 
the  guard  entered. 

"  A  courier  from  General  Santa  Anna  at 
Vera  Cruz,  seeks  an  immediate  audience,"  said 
the  chasseur, 

"  Bid  him  enter,"  said  Iturbide. 

The  chasseur  saluted  and  withdrew. 

"  Strange  that  we  should  be  talking  of  Gen- 
eral Santa  Anna,  at  the  moment  his  courier  is 
entering  the  gates  of  the  Palacio,"  said  Itur- 
bide. 

"  I  look  for  stranger  things  than  that  on  this 
night,"  replied  the  Viceroy  musingly. 

"Your  Excellency  speaks  in  riddles,"  replied 
Iturbide. 

"  To  you,  perhaps,  yes,"  responded  the  Vice- 
roy. "  And  you  must  pardon  the  weakness  of 
a  superstitious  man.  It  is  my  birthnight  and 
its  every  anniversary  has  been  to  me  fruitful  of 
evil  and  misfortune.  My  mother  died  on  the 
night  of  my  coming  into  the  world, — my 
father  was  assassinated  on  its  anniversary,  two 
years  later.  My  only  son  was  drowned  at  sea, 
five  years  ago  to-night.  And  I  have  always 
felt  a  superstitious  fear  of  my  birthnight  since, 


120    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

being  the  last  of  my  family  and  the  last  of  the 
King's  Viceroys." 

"  Mere  coincidences,"  said  Iturbide.  "  And 
this  one  birthnight  in  particular  you  were  never 
more  free  from  danger.  My  chasseurs  guard 
every  entry  to  the  Imperial  Palace.  You  are 
my  honored  guest.     So  banish  fear  and " 

A  renewed  knocking.  The  same  chasseur 
entered  and  after  saluting  announced  : 

"  The  courier  from  General  Santa  Anna  to 
the  Generalissimo  Iturbide." 

A  priest  entered.     The  chasseur  saluted. 

"  Let  no  one  disturb  me  to-night  under  any 
circumstances,"  said  Iturbide. 

The  chasseur  withdrew. 

"  He  signs  his  own  death-warrant,"  mused  the 
priest.  And  there  was  a  sinister  gleam  in  his 
little  beady  eyes.  His  costume  consisted  of  a 
long  black  robe,  the  silver  cross  and  rosary  of 
his  order  at  his  belt,  while  in  his  hand  he  held 
a  three  cornered  black  hat.  Even  so,  he  seemed 
more  soldier  than  priest. 

The  old  clock  of  the  Viceroys  struck  eight. 

"  From  Vera  Cruz,  your  reverence  ?  "  asked 
Iturbide,  resuming  his  seat  and  lighting  a  cigar 
from  the  brazero. 

"  From  the  camp  of  General  Antonio  Lopez 
de  Santa  Anna,"  replied  the  priest. 

"  And  General  Santa  Anna  rests  his  soldiery 
at  Vera  Cruz  ?  "  continued  Iturbide. 

"  For  the  present  the  forces  of  Santa  Anna 
encamp  at  Vera  Cruz,  sciior  Generalissimo, 
until  he  knows  your  Excellency's  will,"  replied 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  121 

the  priest.  "  But  he  sends  a  bottle  of  priceless 
old  wine,  that  you  may  know  his  heart  is  in 
your  cause.  And  he  begs  you  to  drink,  to-night, 
with  the  compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna." 

And  the  priest  produced  from  under  his  robe, 
a  quaint  looking  carafe,  with  every  appearance 
of  great  age  and  a  cobweb  envelope.  This  he 
set  upon  the  table  by  the  Viceroy,  whose  lips 
smacked  in  anticipation. 

"  Cospita — seilor  Generalissimo,"  said  the 
Viceroy.  "  In  faith,  I  am  a  Royalist,  but  for 
the  sake  of  this  good  old  wine,  I  will  right 
gladly  drink  a  toast  to  the  rebel  General  Santa 
Anna." 

And  he  opened  the  carafe  and  filled  two 
glasses.  He  was  about  to  fill  a  third,  but  the 
priest  shook  his  head. 

"  I  care  not  for  wine,  Your  Excellency,"  he 
said  gravely. 

The  Viceroy  set  down  the  carafe.  The  priest 
walked  over  to  the  war  map,  and  began  to 
study  it,  with  his  back  towards  them.  He 
wished  to  hide  from  his  victims  the  wild  gleam 
of  ferocious  joy  in  his  eyes. 

The  two  Generals,  each  took  a  glass  and 
held  it  to  the  light  to  see  the  mellow  sparkle 
in  the  limpid,  liquid  depths.  It  seemed  to  cast 
off  a  hundred  scintillations  in  the  scarlet  reflec- 
tion from  the  candelabra.  One  might  have 
fancied  that  the  green  monster  of  the  worm- 
wood lay  sleeping  in  the  dazzling  elixir.  And 
Dahalia  slept  in  the  little  oratory,  all  uncon- 
scious that  the  shadow  of  the  Yerba  Loco,  hung 


122    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

heavy  like  a  pall  over  the  scarlet  library  of  the 
Viceroys. 

There  was  the  sound  of  steel  clashing  upon 
steel  in  the  patio. 

"  A  street  brawl,"  muttered  Iturbide. 

The  chasseur  of  the  guard  burst  in  uncere- 
moniously. 

"  A  troop  of  the  Reds,  are  fighting  the  chas- 
seurs of  the  Palace  Guard,  senor  Generalis- 
simo," he  cried  excitedly.  "  And  our  Colonel 
begs  that  you  quell  the  riot  by  showing  your 
presence  in  the  patio." 

"  Riot — carramba — it  is  more  than  a  riot  from 
the  noise,"  cried  Iturbide  drawing  his  saber. 

The  Viceroy  rose  with  his  hand  upon  his 
sword,  but  Iturbide  motioned  him  to  his  seat. 
The  clash  of  sabers  resounded  through  the  cor- 
ridors of  the  Palace  and  the  voices  of  men  in 
the  agony  of  mortal  combat. 

"  No — no — your  Excellency,"  said  Iturbide. 
"  You  are  my  guest.  Stay  and  drink  the  health 
of  Santa  Anna  and  I  will  return  when  I  have 
stopped  these  maudlin  roysterers." 

With  this  the  Generalissimo  rushed  from  the 
library  sword  in  hand  followed  by  the  chasseur 
of  the  guard. 

The  last  of  the  Viceroys  stood  looking  after 
him  uncertainly,  his  hand  upon  his  sword- 
hilt. 

"The  regency  of  Iturbide  begins  with  blood- 
shed," he  murmured. 

"  And  it  will  end  with  bloodshed,"  said  the 
priest  prophetically. 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  123 

"  Eh  ?  What  did  you  say  ?  "  asked  the 
Viceroy. 

"  I  said  it  would  be  maintained  by  the 
sword,"  replied  the  man. 

"Your  reverence  is  right,"  said  the  Viceroy. 
"  But  sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof. 
And  now  for  the  wine.  In  truth  I  will  drink  a 
toast,  but  instead  of  drinking  to  the  rebel  Gen- 
eral Santa  Anna  I  will  drain  a  glass  to  the  patriot 
General  Iturbide." 

And  very  gracefully  the  Viceroy  emptied  his 
glass. 

"  And  may  his  reign  be  as  the  effects  of  the 
wine  you  have  drained,"  said  the  priest  with  a 
sneer  upon  his  face. 

"And  how  is  that?"  asked  the  Viceroy. 

"  Short  and  quick,"  sneered  the  priest. 

"  You  mean ?  "   shouted  the  Viceroy. 

"  I  mean  that  you  have  drank  of  the  deadly 
Yerba  Loco,"  hissed  the  priest,  his  face  wild 
with  passion  and  hatred.  "  That  Santa  Anna 
has  chosen  me  as  the  humble  instrument  for 
the  working  of  his  will." 

"  Mother  of  God  !  "  groaned  the  Viceroy, 
pressing  his  hand  to  his  heart,  "  It  is  killing  me 
now.  My  body  is  being  consumed  by  the  fires 
of  hell — I  am  going  blind — my  head  is  bursting. 
For  God's  mercy  tell  me  the  antidote,  if  there 
is  a  spark  of  human  feeling  in  your  breast." 

And  the  Viceroy  clutched  the  table  in  his 
mad  agony  for  support. 

"  Upon  one  condition,"  hissed  the  priest. 

"And  it  is?" 


124    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  Open  the  secret  panel  of  the  Viceroys," 
replied  the  priest. 

11  Lead  me  to  it  then,"  gasped  the  Viceroy, 
"  I  am  almost  blinded,  I  am  going  mad,  I  am 
going  mad." 

Quickly  the  priest  seized  the  Viceroy's  arm 
and  supporting  him  led  him  as  he  directed  to 
the  panel.  With  trembling  fingers  the  Vice- 
roy felt  along  the  wall  and  finally  touched  the 
secret  spring. 

With  a  loud  click  the  panel  flew  open. 

The  priest  released  the  Viceroy's  arm. 

"  The  antidote — the  antidote  !  "  gasped  His 
Excellency. 

"  The  antidote  ?  Why,  carramba,  Excel- 
lency, the  antidote  is  death,"  sneered  the  priest, 
and  sprang  into  the  passage-way. 

Then  the  Viceroy  closed  the  door  upon  him 
and  reeled  back,  laughing  wildly. 

"  Mother  of  God — this  is  my  last  birthnight 
to  be  sure,  but  it  is  the  last  message  you  will 
bear  for  General  Santa  Anna,  senor  priest. 
You  know  not  of  the  grating  at  the  other  end 
of  the  passage.  Go — find  it — rot  there  until 
your  damned,  treacherous  body  is  but  a  mass 
of  corruption.  Rave  !  Rave  !  Rave  !  Storm 
and  tear  your  hair  in  the  horrors  of  suffocation. 
Beat  upon  unanswering  walls.  The  secret  of 
the  panel  dies  with  the  last  of  the  Viceroys. 
I  had  intended  it  for  the  rebel  Iturbide  to- 
night, but  his  fate  I  give  to  you  in  exchange 
for  the  Yerba  Loco." 

And   with  a  terrible  laugh  the  last  of  the 


"Open  the  secret  panel  of  the  Viceroys,"  replied  the  priest. 

Page  124. 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  125 

Viceroys  threw  himself  upon  the  floor  and 
began  to  tear  and  scratch  at  the  heavy  carpet 
in  his  agony. 

The  heavy  fall  awakened  Dahalia  from  her 
sound  sleep  !  She  rushed  from  the  oratory  in 
affright.  She  glanced  around  the  scarlet 
library  of  the  Viceroys.  There  was  no  one  to 
be  seen.  Only  the  sound  of  voices  in  the  cor- 
ridor. Only  a  nameless,  incessant  scratching, 
that  made  her  flesh  creep  weirdly.  The  girl 
glanced  at  the  little  table  with  its  carafe.  She 
saw  the  carafe.  She  saw  the  glass  of  sparkling 
wine  that  the  Viceroy  had  poured  for  Iturbide. 
She  drained  it  and  set  the  glass  upon  the  table 
with  trembling  hand. 

"  I  am  all  unnerved,"  she  muttered. 

The  faint  scratching  continued,  and  some- 
thing like  a  groan  echoed  through  the  apart- 
ment. It  was  this  that  guided  the  trembling 
Dahalia,  to  the  prostrate  body  of  the  Viceroy, 
twitching  in  the  throes  of  an  awful  agony. 
With  wild,  dilated  eyes,  she  started  back  and 
shrieked  : 

"Help,  Agustin — help — there  has  been  mur- 
der done  here — help  !  " 

And  then  she  heard  the  answering  cry  of 
Iturbide,  the  tramping  of  many  feet  in  the  cor- 
ridor, and  she  reeled  faintly  against  the  wall, 
with  glazing  eyes,  for  the  deadly  Yerba  Loco, 
was  working  God's  will  upon  the  sister  of  Gen- 
eral Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna. 

When  Iturbide  re-entered  the  scarlet  library 
of  the  Viceroys,  attended  by  the  officers  of  his 


126    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

suite,  who  had  rallied  to  him,  from  every  cor- 
ridor, a  strange  and  fearful  sight  met  his  eyes, 
and  for  a  moment  he  stood  as  though  bound 
by  the  glamour  of  a  spell.  In  one  corner  lay 
a  huddled,  immobile  mass,  scarce  bearing  the 
semblance  of  humankind, — the  body  of  a  man 
in  a  rich  court  costume  of  black  velvet,  his 
hands  clutching  convulsively  at  the  thick  car- 
pet, his  locks  tangled  in  confusion,  his  wild  di- 
lated eyes  almost  popping  from  their  orbits, 
looking  like  great  red  balls  of  fire,  his  lips  cyan- 
otic, with  a  whitish-blue,  foam-flecked,  and  his 
face  already  black  as  from  the  talon  of  a  stran- 
gles 

And  the  great  clock  was  ticking  its  measured 
strokes  for  the  final  birthnight  of  His  Excel- 
lency. 

Near  an  overturned  table  Dahalia  had  fallen 
to  the  floor.  Her  great  beautiful  hair  fell  in 
luxuriant  masses  over  her  shoulders. 

Through  the  folds  of  her  evening  dress  her 
beautiful  bosom  was  revealed,  of  an  alabaster 
whiteness,  rising  and  falling,  in  quick,  palpitat- 
ing undulations.  There  was  an  agonized  flex- 
ion of  her  slender  fingers,  accentuated  by  a  fast- 
gathering  tint  of  blue  discoloration.  Her  face 
was  wan  and  pinched  and  yellowish  in  hue  and 
her  cyanosed  lips  twitched  convulsively.  Only 
her  eyes  were  brighter  and  more  dilated  as  if 
unwilling  to  yield  to  impending  dissolution, 
and  in  them  was  a  look  of  unutterable  horror, 
as  if  she  were  the  victim  of  an  awful  hallucina- 
tion. 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  127 

"  Dahalia — my  darling — speak  to  me — for 
God's  sake  speak  to  me,"  moaned  Iturbide, 
oblivious  of  everything  but  the  delirious  girl 
whose  brow  was  already  damp  with  the  dew  of 
death. 

His  voice  seemed  to  rouse  her,  for  she  raised 
her  head,  with  those  wildly  staring  death's  eyes, 
and  repulsing  his  caresses  she  began  to  slowly 
crawl,  upon  her  hands  and  knees,  to  the  panel 
whereday  the  stiffened  body  of  the  Viceroy  in 
his  court  costume  of  black. 

Iturbide  watched  her  with  his  hand  upon  his 
burning  brow. 

Slowly  the  delirious  girl  dragged  herself 
across  the  room,  slowly  and  painfully,  step  by 
step,  her  body  shaken  by  repeated  spasmodic 
convulsions,  her  face  already  set, — only  those 
wondrous,  flashing  eyes  bespeaking  life. 

With  those  awful,  flexed,  bluish  fingers,  she 
grasped  the  shoulders  of  the  Viceroy,  and  bend- 
ing over  until  her  face  almost  touched  the 
black,  discolored  features  of  His  Excellency, 
she  stared  long  and  earnestly  as  one  drawn  by 
an  awful  fascination,  into  his  great,  blood- 
circled,  protruding  eyes,  with  their  sunken 
orbits,  and  black  rings,  the  only  coloring  in  the 
mass  of  dissolution. 

Long  she  stared  and  then  raising  her  head, 
with  a  swift  convulsive  movement,  she  said  in 
a  hard,  metallic  voice,  that  seemed  to  emanate 
from  the  depths  of  a  vault : 

"  I  have  seen  upon  the  retina  of  His  Excel- 
lency, the  accursed   features   of  his  murderer, 


128    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

bespeaking  hate  and  assassination,  and  the  in- 
sensate love  of  the  Yerba  Loco.  I  have  seen 
the  same  accursed  features  livid  and  staring 
from  an  awful  suffocation,  in  yon  secret  pas- 
sage of  the  Viceroys.  I  have  seen  him  clutch- 
ing at  his  throat,  rending  his  hair  in  dire  an- 
guish and  dashing  his  fists  frantically  against 
the  great  walls  of  the  barred  passage-way, — for 
the  good  God  has  placed  in  the  eyes  of  the 
victim  the  picture  of  His  awful  vengeance, 
and  gives  me  the  knowledge,  that  the  murder- 
ous priest,  is  even  now  gasping  in  the  last  throes 
of  a  grim,  horrible  death.  Near  him  lies  the 
decomposed,  putrid  body  of  another  victim  of 
God's  will  and  the  priest  is  tearing  at  the  dead 
flesh  in  his  agony  of  soul.  He  shrieks  in  his 
despair.  He  blasphemes  and  his  utterance 
chokes  from  an  awful  fear,  for  he  feels  the 
weight  of  God's  hand,  exacting  an  awful  ret- 
ribution. The  chill  of  death  has  seized  upon 
his  limbs.  It  is  creeping  up — up — up — slower 
— quicker — quicker,  almost  to  his  heart.  He 
shrieks.  The  death-rattle  sounds  and  sticks  in 
his  throat.  He  clutches  at  the  silent  dead  man 
at  his  side  and,  with  a  long,  low  gasp  of  horror, 
— dies.  That  is  the  picture  God  gives  me, 
Agustin.  And  now  I  see  the  sea,  with  its 
great,  rolling  breakers  and  the  glint  of  the  sand 
upon  the  shore.  A  ship  is  tossing  at  anchor 
in  the  harbor.  There  are  soldiers  upon  the 
beach,  and  Agustin,  erect  and  proud,  my  Agus- 
tin standing  alone.  His  eyes  are  blinded  by  the 
tricolor.     His   hands   are  bound.     They  raise 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  129 

their  muskets.  Madre  de  Dios — it  is  an  execu- 
tion— no,  no,  no,  they  shall  not  shoot.  Stop, 
stop,  stop,  Agustin,  my  life,  my  love,  my  Em- 
peror." * 

With  a  wild  shriek  she  fell  prone  upon  the 
floor. 

Iturbide  rushed  to  her  side  and  raised  her 
head,  looking  into  her  glazed  expressionless 
eyes. 

Then  letting  it  fall  and  bowing  his  head 
upon  his  hands  he  sobbed  : 

"  Dead — Dahalia  dead — ah,  little  nifia,  speak 
just  one  word  of  love — give  me  one  sign  of  rec- 
ognition— one  little  reminder,  that  may  soften 
the  memory  of  this    awful    night.     Dead — ah 

*  "  A  mediados  de  Julio  llego  Iturbide  a  Soto  la  Marina  y 
Beneski  recibio  orden  de  desembarcar  el  primero  e  investigar 
el  estad  de  la  opinion  y  la  disposicion  de  los  espiritus. — El  dia 
19  de  Julio  (1824)  D.  Felipe  de  la  Garza  se  presento  al  Sr. 
Iturbide  y  le  dijo  friamente  que  estaba  preso,  y  que  el  con- 
greso  habia  resuelto  que  fuese  pasado  por  los  armas  en  virtud 
de  la  ley  que  le  declaraba  proscripto.  Inutiles  fueron  todas  las 
reflecsiones  que  hizo  el  desgraciado  caudillo  :  inutiles  sus  pro- 
testas,  sus  razonamientos,  el  recuerdo  de  sus  servicios,  de 
aquellos  servicios  cuyo  fruto  era  la  independencia  del  pais,  y 
la  ecsistencia  de  aquellas  mismas  autoridades  que  le  con- 
denaban.  Cinco  diputados  habian  pronunciado  la  sentencia 
de  su  muerte,  ejerciendo  el  poder  judicial  de  la  manera  mas 
inaudita  y  atroz.  EL  HEROE  DE  IGUALA  fue  fusilado  en 
la  plaza  publica  de  Padilla,  a  presencia  de  un  pueblo  lleno  de 
estupor.  Antes  de  morir  echsorto  a  los  que  le  escuchaban  a 
obedecer  las  leyes  y  procurar  la  paz,  y  suplico  que  se  respetase 
a  su  esposa,  cuya  situacion  reclamaba  la  compasion  de  todo 
hombre  que  no  hubiese  perdido  toda  la  sensibilidad  de  que  la 
naturaleza  doto  a  la  especie  humana." 

•'  Ensayo  Historico  de  las  Revoluciones  de  Mexico." 

Por  D.  Lorenzo  de  Zavala.     (Mexico,  1845.) 
9 


130    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

Dios — grant  her  one  little  brief  moment  of 
consciousness  that  her  eyes  may  look  into  mine 
with  the  old  look  of  love,  with  the  old  look  of 
stainless  purity  and  innocence.  Dahalia  dead 
— ah — no,  no,  no — God  will  not  be  so  cruel  as 
to  take  her  from  me — speak,  my  little  nina, 
speak,  chiquita — only  come  back  to  me  for  one 
little  moment  of  love — for  one  little  brief  mo- 
ment of  life — and  I  will  give  up  all  my  armies 
my  honors,  my  country,  my  life.  Dahalia 
dead — my  God  !  thou  art  cruel  to  me  this  night, 
unless  thou  takest  me  too.  Dead — dead — the 
Viceroy  dead — Dahalia  dead — the  accursed 
poisoning  priest  dead — and  only  Iturbide  lives 
— only  Iturbide  lives — and  for  what  ?  My  love 
has  died  to-night,  and  my  ambitions  have  been 
crushed.  For  what  then?  With  Dahalia  it 
might  have  been  Augustin  the  Good,  the  Just, 
the  Great.  Without  Dahalia,  it  will  be  Agus- 
tin  the  Reckless,  the  Cruel,  the  Despairing." 

And  the  Emperor  of  Mexico  broke  down 
and  sobbed  like  a  child,  and  his  body  was 
shaken  by  the  violence  of  his  emotions.  His 
grief  was  that  mighty,  all-consuming  grief  which 
comes  but  once  in  a  lifetime  to  strong  self- 
contained  men. 

From  far  down  the  corridor  of  the  Palacio 
there  came  a  solemn  chanting,  in  mournful 
cadences,  the  chanting  of  the  suffragans,  those 
grim,  gloomy,  black-robed  attendants  of  His 
Eminence,  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico. 

Iturbide  knelt  beside  the  body  of  Dahalia, 
weeping,  and  never  raised  his  head  as  His  Em- 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  131 

inence  appeared  at  the  doorway  of  the  salon, 
in  his  red  simar  and  laces,  leading  Madame  de 
Iturbide  by  the  hand  and  followed  by  the 
seven,  grim,  shaven  men  in  black,  still  chanting 
the  mournful  music  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

His  Eminence  made  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
Madame  de  Iturbide,  taking  all  the  terrible 
scene  at  a  glance,  crossed  over  to  her  husband, 
raised  him  gently,  and  led  him  to  a  chair  as  she 
would  have  led  a  little  child.  Then  unclasping 
her  rich,  furred  satin  cloak,  she  threw  it  over  the 
bodies  of  the  Viceroy  and  Dahalia  Santa  Anna, 
thus  shutting  off  the  pitiful,  gruesome,  ghastly 
sight. 

"We  have  come  too  late  to  save  the  child," 
said  His  Eminence  sternly,  "  but  not  too  late 
to  avenge  her." 

Then  pointing  his  finger  at  Iturbide  he  be- 
gan— 

"  En  nombre  del  Padre,  y  del  Hijo,  y  del 
Espiritu  Santo !  " 

"Stop! — "shrieked  Madame  de  Iturbide, 
extending  her  hands  in  supplication.  "Your 
Eminence  will  surely  not  place  the  ban  of  the 
Church  upon  my  husband  without  a  hearing  ?  " 

"  What  need  of  a  hearing  when  the  evidence 
of  a  foul  crime  lies  unveiled  before  us?"  mur- 
mured the  Archbishop. 

Iturbide  rose  with  anger  in  his  eyes. 

"  Proceed  with  the  excommunication,  your 
Eminence,"  he  said,  "only  let  the  wrath  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  descend  upon  the  unworthy 
priest,  the    author    of  this    night's   work   im- 


132    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

prisoned  in  yonder  secret  passage  of  the  Vice- 
roys." 

"  A  priest — imprisoned  in  the  secret  passage 
of  the  Viceroys  ?  "  gasped  His  Eminence,  start- 
ing back.  "  It  is  murder.  For  you  know  and 
I  know  that  the  passage  was  sealed  at  the  far- 
ther end,  by  order  of  the  Viceroy  Calleja,  the 
predecessor  of  Apodaca." 

"  And  doubtless  the  accursed  priest  has  dis- 
covered the  fact  by  this  time,"  replied  Itur- 
bide caustically. 

"  I  demand  that  you  tear  down  the  secret 
panel  with  your  troopers,"  cried  His  Eminence 
sternly.  "  Would  you  sacrifice  another  life  in 
this  accursed  cause  ?     Have  you  no  heart  ?  " 

"  There  lies  the  heart  of  Iturbide,"  was  the 
reply,  as  the  Emperor  pointed  to  Dahalia. 
"  There  lies  my  love,  my  future,  my  all.  And 
there  (pointing  to  the  panel),  there  lies  my 
revenge." 

"  But  this  is  murder,"  gasped  the  Archbishop. 
"  The  murder  of  a  Churchman  and  a  member  of 
our  brotherhood.  Refuse  my  demand  and  I 
shall  withdraw  from  your  cause  the  countenance 
and  support  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

"  Go  then,"  responded  Iturbide,  with  a  look 
of  fierce  defiance.  "  My  cause  was  reared 
without  the  aid  of  the  clergy,  and  it  will  live 
without  the  aid  of  the  clergy.  In  England, 
Henry  VIII.  divorced  Church  and  State.  In 
France,  the  Republicans  hurled  defiance  at  the 
Pope.  In  Mexico,  I,  Agustin  de  Iturbide, 
Emperor  by  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  will  of 


Compliments  of  General  Santa  Anna.  133 

the  Mexican  people,  bid  you  go  with  your 
empty  forms  and  mummery,  fit  alone  for  the 
priest-ridden  Bourbons.  For  two  hundred  years 
the  Church  of  Rome  has  preyed  upon  this  poor 
country,  like  the  sopilote  of  the  desert,  exercis- 
ing the  vilest  extortions,  practising  the  most 
fearful  inhumanities,  working  upon  the  fears  of 
the  simple  minded  by  the  dread  terrors  of  the 
Inquisition,  and  glutting  the  national  resources 
to  fatten  your  monks,  your  nuns,  your  cathe- 
drals, and  rear  up  a  tinsel  framework  of  cere- 
monials to  pander  to  your  idle  vanities,  while 
the  ragged  lepero,  the  beggared  ranchero,  and 
despairing  tradesman  bow  their  worn,  emaciated 
bodies  in  the  dust,  to  receive,  in  return  for  all 
they  have  given  to  the  Church,  the  empty  vac- 
uous smile  and  meaningless  benediction  of  some 
over-fed,  lumbering  priest,  whose  very  shovel 
hat  and  black  robe  have  been  paid  for  from  the 
full  measure  of  their  sacrifice.  Yon  man  devil, 
who,  I  pray  God,  has  already  rendered  his 
account,  is  an  example  of  your  sophistry,  ex- 
cusing all  things  on  the  ground  that  the  end 
justifies  the  means." 

"  You  have  hurled  down  your  grito  of  defi- 
ance and  must  answer  to  the  Pope,"  cried  the 
exasperated  Archbishop,  his  form  shaken  with 
wrath.  "  The  cause  of  the  Excumulgado,  has 
•ever  been  a  lost  cause." 

"  I  shall  answer  to  my  God  and  to  Him  alone," 
cried  Iturbide.  "  And  if  my  cause  fail  because 
I  have  been  the  first  of  the  Mexicans  to  raise 
my  voice  against  extortionate  priestcraft,  then 


134    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

be  it  so.  But  hearken,  your  Eminence,  that 
day  will  come  for  Mexico  when  some  man  shall 
rise  strong  enough  to  forever  divorce  Church 
and  State.  Perhaps  it  may  be  an  Iturbide — 
perhaps  a  man  of  a  future  generation — as  yet 
unborn,  but  so  surely  as  to-morrow's  sun  shall 
rise  over  the  city,  so  surely  will  the  hour  and 
the  man  come.  Go  then,  your  Eminence,  mete 
out  the  curses  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  let  the 
Papal  Bulls  decry  against  my  cause,  flee  across 
the  water  to  the  Court  of  the  Bourbons.  I 
defy  you  all  and  rest  my  cause  before  Almighty 
God." 

The  Archbishop  raised  his  hand  as  though 
to  pronounce  the  dread  sentence  of  excommu- 
nication, but  Madame  de  Iturbide  cast  herself 
before  him  and  seized  the  hem  of  his  robe. 

"  Forbear,  your  Eminence,  I  beseech  you," 
she  cried.  "  Grief  has  made  my  husband  mad. 
He  knows  not  what  he  says.  He  knows  not 
what  he  does.  I  have  ever  been  a  faithful 
daughter  of  the  Church  and  I  will  answer  for 
my  husband." 

"  So  be  it,"  said  the  Archbishop.  "  But  un- 
til he  retracts  his  words  he  rests  under  the  ban 
of  disapproval  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

And  motioning  his  suite  to  follow  he  passed 
with  dignity  from  the  scarlet  chamber  of  the 
Viceroys,  the  suffragans  chanting  all  the  while. 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    135 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  COMPLIMENTS  OF  THE  EMPEROR  ITURBIDE. 

The  Convent  of  Santa  Teresa  consisted  of  a 
retreat  for  about  twenty  nuns  and  a  monastery 
of  several  hundred  Jesuit  Fathers.  It  was  a 
large  structure  of  quadrangular  form,  with  a 
square  court,  enclosed  by  gloomy,  forbidding- 
looking  cloisters. 

The  Angelus  was  ringing,  when  a  man  and  a 
woman,  footsore  and  weary,  with  dirty,  worn, 
tattered  garments,  knocked  at  the  portals  of 
the  convent. 

A  voice  from  within  spoke  through  the  rega. 

"  Who  knocks  at  the  portals  of  Santa  Teresa  ?  " 

The  woman   replied  : 

"  A  sister  who  desires  sanctuary." 

"  Enter,  little  sister,"  said  the  same  voice. 
And  the  wicket  opened  disclosing  a  number  of 
thin,  gaunt  nuns,  in  great  black  robes,  at  the 
feet  of  the  Mother  Superior,  and  in  the  shadow, 
six  blue-jacketed  dragoons,  headed  by  Captain 
Berdejo. 

The  Commander  of  the  Jalapa  troop  ad- 
vanced courteously,  helmet  in  hand,  and  with 
a  deferential  bow  said  : 

"  We  have  anticipated  your  arrival  by  a  few 
hours,  lady  la  Garza, — and  I  have  already  per- 


6    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


fectcd  arrangements  to  carry  out  the  sentence 
of  death  pronounced  upon  you  by  the  Viceroy. 
The  execution  will  take  place  at  midnight. 
A  pretty  chase  you  have  led  us  these  many 
days, — through  the  mountains  and  over  the 
lowlands.  But  all  is  well  that  ends  well,  and  so, 
seiiora,  I  suppose  you  will  want  to  spend  the 
few  hours  left  you  at  the  Confessional." 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  looked  with  great, 
sorrowful  eyes  at  the  stern,  uncompromising 
features  of  the  Captain  of  the  Blues,  and  in 
them  saw  no  pity.  Then  at  the  sorrowful, 
sympathetic  faces  of  the  nuns. 

Last  at  the  passion-distorted  face  of  Rafael 
Aristo,  who  trembling  with  a  rage  that  deprived 
him  of  utterance,  had  fallen  weakly  against  the 
wicket  for  support. 

With  a  beautiful  resignation,  she  turned 
gently  to  the  priest  and,  bending  close  until 
their  faces  almost  touched,  she  kissed  him 
gently  on  the  brow. 

Then  whispered  softly  in  his  ear : 

"  The  Convent  of  Santa  Teresa  is  but  a  few 
leagues  from  the  hacienda  of  Mango  de  Clavo. 
If  you  can  procure  a  swift  horse,  you  can  reach 
Santa  Anna  in  time  to  save  me.  We  have 
some  few  hours  yet.  If  not — and  you  should 
fail — then  tell  him  that  my  last — last  thoughts 
were  of  him — tell  him  that  perhaps  it  were 
better  so — for  I  am  all  unworthy  the  love  of 
such  a  mi  1." 

The  face  of  the  priest  brightened. 

With  the  light  of  new-found  hope  and  joy  in 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    137 

his  eyes,  he  bended  over  the  lady's  hand  and 
then,  before  any  one  knew  his  intention,  he 
vanished  through  the  wicket  and  into  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night. 

When  he  had  gone  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza 
turned  to  the  Mother  Superior  and  said  very 
quietly  : 

"  Mother,  I  am  prepared  to  follow  you." 
And  the  Mother  Superior,  taking  her  hand, 
led  her  through  the  gloomy  corridors  of  Santa 
Teresa,  nuns  and  troopers  following. 

At  an  inn  near  the  convent  Rafael  Aristo 
procured  a  horse  and  took  the  road  to  the  south 
at  a  rapid  gallop.  Behind  him  along  the  north- 
ern road  he  heard  the  rumbling  of  heavy 
artillery  wagons  and  the  steady  trot  of  cavalry, 
and  surmised  rightly  that  the  army  of  the  Em- 
peror Iturbide  was  advancing  from  the  Capitol. 
Ahead,  however,  the  priest  had  a  clear  road 
and  he  urged  his  good  steed  to  the  utmost  over 
the  hard  dry  alkali  road.  As  he  sped  along,  he 
cast  many  a  sidelong  glance  over  the  low-lying 
stretch  of  desert  and  wondered  if  his  night-ride 
was  destined  to  transform  the  peaceful  waste 
into  a  charnel  for  the  soldiers  of  Mexico,  if  the 
gentle  chaparral  was  destined  before  morning 
to  be  crushed  and  bruised  by  the  charge  of 
cavalry  and  the  rush  of  infantry,  if  Santa 
Anna's  forces  were  sufficient  in  number  to 
drive  back  the  troopers  of  the  Emperor  and  cut 
a  way  through  to  Santa  Teresa,  and  if  he, 
Rafael  Aristo,  was  to  see  again  in  this  life  the 


138    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

beautiful  face  of  the  woman  he  loved,  Juana  la 
Garza  ! 

Again  he  urged  his  horse  on,  and  on,  and  on, 
for  the  love  of  woman  was  his,  than  which  man 
can  have  no  greater  incentive. 

A  turn  of  the  road  brought  him  to  the  out- 
posts of  Santa  Anna's  camp,  and  awakened  him 
from  his  reverie.  The  click  of  a  gunlock  and 
the  shrill  challenge, — "  Centinela  alerta  : ''  ring- 
ing out  on  the  crisp  air  of  the  night,  caused  him 
to  bring  his  steed  to  a  standstill. 

The  camp  stretched  out  in  parallel  lines  for 
miles,  the  cavalry  and  infantry  apart  from  the 
light  artillery,  which  formed  a  separate  division 
under  General  Marian,  Santa  Anna  command- 
ing the  others. 

Near  the  sentinel  who  barred  his  path,  the 
priest  saw  a  few  old  women  making  tortillas, 
while  coffee-pots  simmered  over  the  camp-fires. 
The  men  of  the  outpost,  big,  strapping  fellows, 
with  bronzed,  scarred  cheeks,  their  heads  cov- 
ered by  dirty,  red  handkerchiefs,  or  worn  and 
tattered  sombreros,  their  manta  trousers  sup- 
ported by  parti-colored  bandas,  from  which  pro- 
truded great  pistols  and  machetes,  lolled  around 
smoking  their  cigarettes  as  though  they  had 
no  other  care  in  all  the  world. 

"  Pass  me  at  once  to  the  tent  of  the  General 
Santa  Anna,  hombre — 'tis  a  matter  of  life  and 
death,"  panted  the  priest. 

"  Impossible,  your  reverence,"  replied  the 
sentinel  respectfully.  "  We  have  come  by 
forced  marches  from  Vera  Cruz  and  officers  and 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    139 

men  are  exhausted.  General  Santa  Anna  has 
issued  orders  that  no  one  disturb  him  to-night. 
You  will  have  to  rest  here  with  us  until 
morning  and  then,  seilor,  if  you  wish  you  can 
see  General  Santa  Anna." 

With  a  deft  swing  of  his  arm  Rafael  Aristo 
pushed  the  sentinel  out  of  the  pathway  and 
dashed  on  at  full  speed.  The  soldiers  at  the 
outpost  shouted  and  followed,  but  did  not 
fire,  because  their  quarry  was  a  son  of  the 
Church. 

Rafael  Aristo  drew  up  his  panting  horse  be- 
fore a  great  tent,  in  front  of  which  was  planted 
Santa  Anna's  standard.  Exhausted  by  his 
hard  ride  he  flung  himself  to  the  ground  and 
parted  the  flaps  of  the  tent.  The  lights  were 
burning  low  within,  throwing  weird,  grotesque 
shadows  on  the  flaps.  A  man,  in  the  green 
and  go-Id  uniform  of  a  brigadier,  was  seated  at 
a  table  on  which  was  a  great  war  map  which 
he  had  evidently  been  studying,  but  his  head 
had  fallen  upon  his  arm  and  he  slept. 

The  abrupt  entrance  of  the  priest  awakened 
him  and  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  his  hand  upon 
his  sword-hilt.  The  face  which  met  the  eager 
gaze  of  Rafael  Aristo  had  once  been  a  very 
handsome  face,  but  it  was  deeply  lined  and 
haggard  from  battles,  forced  marches  and  all- 
night  vigils.  The  heavy  jet-black  curls  were 
streaked  with  silver  threads,  giving  the  daring 
General  a  dignity  which  well  became  him. 
The  eyes  were  weary,  tired-looking  eyes  yet  in 
the  dim  candle-light  they  threw  out  a  s-cintillat- 


140    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

ing  glitter  that  fascinated  the  priest  as  no 
other  eyes  had  ever  done  in  all  his  life.  He 
saw  now  why  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  loved 
this  magnetic,  soldier  gentleman,  the  idol  of 
the  Southland. 

"  My  orders "  began  General  Santa  Anna 

imperiously. 

"  Excellency — the  lady  Juana  la  Garza — 
Convent  of  Santa  Teresa — execution — mid- 
night  "  panted  the  priest  and  fell  in  a  dead 

faint  to  the  ground. 

Without  waiting  for  the  priest  to  recover 
himself  Santa  Anna  rushed  hastily  from  his 
tent  and  crossed  over  to  that  of  Colonel  Duran 
adjoining.  A  number  of  brilliantly  uniformed 
staff  officers  were  carousing  and  making  merry 
over  their  wine.  Deep  silence  fell  as  the 
General  entered  and  stood  regarding  them,  a 
drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  his  face  calm,  impas- 
sive. Every  man  set  down  his  glass  and  stood 
at  attention. 

"  Colonel  Duran,  you  will  advance  your  regi- 
ment and  take  the  enemy  upon  the  right," 
began  Santa  Anna  hurriedly. 

"  To-night ?  "  gasped  Colonel  Duran. 

"  To-night — at  once,"  said  Santa  Anna  in- 
cisively. 

General  Marian  broke  in — 

"  The  enemy  are  fortified  on  the  Santa  Teresa 
road.  My  vedette  Captain  reports  that  they 
outnumber  us  five  to  one.  Even  with  our 
reserves,  which  will  not  arrive  until  five  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning,  the  -Emperor  has  an  ad- 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    141 

vantage  in  men  and  position.  It  is  madness 
to  think  of  an  advance  to-night." 

General  Santa  Anna  turned  to  an  orderly. 

44  Teniente,  have  my  cavalry  ready  to  move 
in  ten  minutes." 

The  Teniente  saluted  and  left  the  tent  at 
once.  A  moment  later  a  bugle  sounded  the 
call  "  boots  and  saddles." 

Santa  Anna  turned  again  to  his  astonished 
officers. 

"  I  see  you  are  not  in  accord  with  me,"  he 
said  pleasantly,  "  I  breakfast  to-morrow  morn- 
ing in  the  Convent  of  Santa  Teresa,  gentlemen." 

"  In  all  probability  we'll  breakfast  in  hell," 
growled  Colonel  Duran. 

"  Perhaps,"  smiled  Santa  Anna,  and  his  eyes 
gleamed  luridly  with  the  fire  of  battle.  "  But 
we'll  have  distinguished  company,  gentlemen, 
for  in  half  an  hour  we  will  join  battle  with  the 
enemy.  I  will  lead  the  cavalry  attack  upon 
the  enemy's  center,  Colonel  Duran  the  infantry 
upon  the  enemy's  right  and  you,  General  Ma- 
rian, will  bring  your  batteries  in  play  upon  the 
enemy's  left  and  concentrate  your  fire  to  draw 
his  attention  from  the  center  which  I  mean  to 
force  to-night." 

"  Impossible "  began  Duran. 

"  There  is  no  such  word  for  Santa  Anna," 
smiled  that  General.  "  We  rendezvous  after 
the  battle  at  Santa  Teresa,  gentlemen.  God 
speed  you  all,  and  speed  our  battle-cry,  Mexico 
and  Santa  Anna." 

As  they  echoed  the  viva  of  their  chief,  Santa 


142    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

Anna  bowed  very  cordially  and  passed  out  to 
where  his  troopers  waited  him.  With  a  set 
face  and  lips  tightly  compressed  Santa  Anna 
vaulted  into  his  saddle  and  led  his  band  for- 
ward at  a  rapid  trot.  He  had  thought  the 
woman  he  loved  was  safe  and  awaiting  him  in 
the  care  of  the  priest  who  had  saved  her.  For 
love  of  her  he  had  raised  the  standard  of  revolt 
and  declared  against  the  Emperor,  for  love  of 
her  he  had  abandoned  the  impregnable  for- 
tress of  San  Juan  de  Uloa  and  led  his  little  army 
to  the  north  that  he  might  cut  his  way  victo- 
rious into  the  Capitol  and  make  her  the  first 
lady  of  Mexico.  And  to-night,  on  the  eve  of 
his  success,  when  his  picked  reserves  were  al- 
most at  hand,  the  news  of  her  peril  forced  his 
hand  and  gave  him  an  almost  insurmountable 
task. 

"  By  God,  I'll  drive  them  back,  I'll  drive 
them  back,"  he  muttered,  "  I'll  drive  them  back 
if  it  costs  me  every  man  I  have." 

And  Santa  Anna  led  his  troopers  on  with 
increased  speed. 

Meanwhile  the  camp  was  all  confusion.  The 
vedettes  had  been  called  in  and  the  infantry  of 
Colonel  Duran  and  the  field  batteries  of  Gene- 
ral Marian  began  their  advance  to  certain  de- 
struction. Every  officer  of  Santa  Anna's  staff 
knew  what  odds  confronted  them.  But  Santa 
Anna  had  trained  his  men  to  obey  without 
question  and  cheerily  they  followed  their  fear- 
less leader,  though  they  knew  it  was  for  many 
of  them  the  last  battle,  though  they  feared  that 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    143 

the  morning's  sun  would  rise  for  them  no  more, 
for  Santa  Anna  led  them  on,  and  with  Santa 
Anna  they  could  smile  at  the  very  gates  of 
hell. 

In  the  tent  of  General  Santa  Anna,  the  lights 
were  burning  low,  when  the  priest  Rafael  Aristo 
came  to  himself.  A  great  crucifix  was  hung  on 
one  of  the  flaps  of  the  tent  and  the  priest  pros- 
trated himself  before  it,  praying  for  the  lady 
Juana  la  Garza  whose  life  hung  by  a  thread. 

Outside  was  the  clatter  of  cavalry,  the  deep 
heavy  tread  of  infantry  which  gradually  died 
away  in  the  distance.  Then  the  sound  of  the 
heavy  gun-carriages  of  General  Marian  as 
battery  after  battery  passed.  Rafael  Aristo  lis- 
tened to  the  shouting  of  the  drivers  as  they 
lashed  their  horses  and  then  continued  his 
prayer.  Far  away  in  the  distance  sounded  the 
rattle  and  crash  of  musketry,  and  the  resonant 
booming  of  field-guns,  but  above  all  the  frenzied 
cries  of  men  in  the  agony  of  mortal  conflict. 
The  priest  sprang  to  his  feet  and  listened  with 
clasped  hands,  then  moved  by  a  sudden  inspira- 
tion he  seized  the  great  crucifix  and  rushed  from 
the  tent  in  time  to  join  the  last  battery  as  it 
swept  on  to  action  and  death,  the  swarth  artil- 
lery-men shouting  their  battle-cry,  "  Mexico 
and  Santa  Anna!"  and  the  priest,  waving  the 
crucifix  and  echoing  their  cry,  "  Mexico  and 
Santa  Anna  ! "  sprang  upon  an  axletree  seat 
and  was  swept  along  in  the  charge. 

The  nuns  of  Santa  Teresa  were  at  the  re- 


144    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

fectory.  This,  like  the  cells,  was  a  gloomy 
apartment,  so  furnished  as  to  be  a  constant 
picture  of  the  mutability  of  human  life.  Upon 
the  walls  at  stated  intervals  were  suspended 
the  moldy  bones  of  divers  Saints.  In  the 
center  of  the  table  was  a  skull  and  crossbones. 
While  the  twenty  nuns  supped  of  their  simple 
fare,  consisting  of  an  apple  and  a  tortilla  for 
each,  the  Mother  Superior  read  aloud  the 
prayers  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

Apart  from  the  rest  the  condemned  woman 
listened  and  waited  the  coming  of  the  Father 
Confessor. 

The  hour  was  eleven. 

One  hour  of  life. 

Would  Santa  Anna  reach  her  in  time  to  save 
her? 

From  an  adjoining  room  came  the  voices  of 
Captain  Berdejo's  troopers  toasting  each  other 
over  their  wine.  Soldier-like  they  had  no 
thought  of  the  poor  soul  so  soon  to  be  hurried 
into  eternity. 

There  was  the  sound  of  chanting  and  the 
great  rumbling  wheels  of  a  coach  from  the 
courtyard. 

"  It  is  the  good  Padre  Madrid,"  said  the 
Mother  Superior  to  the  condemned  woman. 
"  Little  sister,  art  thou  prepared  for  the  Con- 
fessional ?  " 

The  bell  of  the  convent  tolled  mournfully 
the  quarter. 

'*  I  am  prepared  for  the  Confessional,"  echoed 
the  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  listlessly. 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    145 

There  was  still  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
left. 

And  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  believed  in  her 
lover. 

"  Come,  then,"  said  the  Mother  Superior, 
taking  her  hand.  And  she  led  her  from  the 
refectory  out  through  the  gloomy  cloister  to 
the  Confessional. 

A  gorgeously-attired  priest,  in  violet  robe, 
with  a  scarlet  cloak,  knelt  prostrate  before  a 
huge  wooden  crucifix,  chanting  the  prayers  of 
the  Church  of  Rome. 

"  Padre  Madrid,  I  bring  thee  the  condemned 
woman,  that  her  last  moments  may  be  spent 
in  preparation  to  meet  her  God." 

The  priest  bowed  and  continued  his  chant- 
ing. 

The  Mother  Superior  withdrew,  crossing  her- 
self. 

The  lady  Juana  la  Garza  sank  upon  her 
knees,  and  began  telling  her  rosary.  All  hope 
had  left  her  now.  With  a  white,  wan  face,  she 
looked  pitifully  at  the  great  crucifix,  before 
which  the  priest  still  knelt. 

"  Juana "  murmured  the  priest. 

The  lady  la  Garza  pressed  her  hand  to  her 
heart  and  gasped : 

"  Madre  de  Dios — Antonio " 

"  Yes,  Antonio  !  "  replied  the  priest  passion- 
ately, and  turned  suddenly  upon  her,  holding 
out  his  arms. 

"  Antonio,  who  loves  you  with  all  the  love 
that  his  broken  heart  has  left ;  Antonio,  who, 
10 


146    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

loving  you,  has  come   to  die  for  you,  or  failing 
that  has  come  to  die  with  you." 

And  he  would  have  embraced  her. 

But  with  a  great  cry  of  awful  agony,  she 
shrank  from  him. 

"  Ah,    God — you    are    bleeding — you    are 

wounded — Antonio,     my     Antonio "     she 

sobbed  piteously. 

"  Yes,  I  had  to  cut  my  way  through  the 
army  of  Iturbide,  which  was  advancing  upon 
Mango  de  Clavo.  To-morrow  I  should  have 
given  him  battle — for  I  have  raised  the  grito 
of  revolt  against  the  man  who  took  my  little 
sister's  honor.  And  I  think  I  should  have 
won  the  day,  for  my  reserves  were  advancing 
from  the  south.  But  when,  to-night,  your 
messenger  came  to  me  and  told  me  of  your 
impending  fate,  I  started  with  what  forces  I 
could  gather,  and  advanced  upon  mine  enemy. 
Ah,  God  !  it  was  a  battle — and  we  cut  our  way 
through, — but  of  my  brave  Jorochos,  there  are 
scarce  half  a  hundred  left.  And  Iturbide  is  in 
hot  pursuit.  My  men  hold  the  only  approach 
to  the  convent,  and  will  hold  it  against  all  the 
army  of  Iturbide,  until  every  man  of  them  has 
fallen.  Fate  sent  the  Padre  Madrid  across  our 
path,  in  his  great  coach,  scarce  half  an  hour 
since.  He  was  bearing  the  Host  to  the  dying. 
Around  his  carriage  ran  six  acolytes  in  robes 
of  white,  chanting  and  waving  their  incense. 
We  waylaid  them  and  slew  the  Confessor  and 
the  boys.  Then,  donning  their  robes,  myself 
and  six  of  my  most  trusted   men  gained  access 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    147 

to  the  convent.  My  companions  hold  the  ap- 
proaches to  the  Confessional." 

"  Ah,  Dios — you  do  love  me — you  do  indeed 

love  me "  sobbed  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza, 

throwing  herself  into  his  outstretched  arms. 
''And  since  we  cannot  live  together,  we  can  at 
least  die  together." 

"  Talk  not  of  death  while  Santa  Anna  has 
his  sword  to  defend  you,"  said  her  lover. 

And  throwing  off  the  robes  of  the  Father 
Confessor,  he  drew  his  saber,  and  stood  before 
her,  every  inch  a  soldier,  in  his  blood-bespat- 
tered uniform  of  green  and  gold. 

"  Come — my  love — my  nifla — there  is  still 
time  and  I  will  lead  you  to  liberty  and  to 
love " 

Solemnly  rang  through  the  Confessional  the 
first  stroke  of  twelve. 

"Ah,  Dios — too  late — too  late "  gasped 

the  lady  Juana  la  Garza. 

As  if  to  verify  her  words,  the  furious  clash 
of  sabers  rang  through  the  corridor. 

With  the  light  of  battle  in  his  eyes,  Santa 
Anna  gently  disengaged  her  clinging  arms,  and 
with  a  passionate  kiss  of  farewell,  cried  : 

"  Wait  you  here,  my  darling.  If  I  live,  I 
will  return  to  you  and  lead  you  from  this  hot- 
bed of  danger." 

And  then  he  sprang  into  the  corridor,  where 
his  brave  troopers  were  fighting  the  soldiers  of 
Captain  Berdejo.  Slowly  the  soldiers  of  the 
Blues  retreated  before  the  determined  onset  of 
Santa  Anna  and  his  Jorocho  cavalrymen.     And 


148    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

retreating,  entered  the  room  where  Berdejo  had 
made  merry  with  his  officers  but  a  short  time 
since.  And  now  there  were  but  three  of  all  the 
combatants  left  alive — Santa  Anna — and  op- 
posed to  him,  the  Captain  and  Lieutenant  of 
the  Blues.  And  Berdejo,  supported  with  his  left 
arm,  the  body  of  a  boy  sergeant,  which  he  used 
as  a  buckler  in  this  awful  game  of  life  and 
death. 

For  his  sword  had  already  crossed  the  sword 
of  Santa  Anna,  and  he  knew  that  he  had  found 
his  master.  For  Santa  Anna  was  the  best 
swordsman  in  Mexico. 

The  room  was  small  and  there  was  little  op- 
portunity to  display  any  great  maneuvering. 
Round  and  round  the  apartment  swayed  the 
three  combatants,  and  Santa  Anna  allowed  the 
blades  of  his  opponents,  to  play  along  his  own, 
keeping  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  Lieutenant,  a 
huge  massive  man  with  a  great  black  beard. 

There  was  time  for  the  Captain  later. 

And  the  Lieutenant  pressed  Santa  Anna  the 
more  fiercely,  since  in  the  eyes  of  Santa  Anna 
he  read  death.  Once  he  made  a  pass  at  Santa 
Anna's  head,  but  missed  his  stroke  and  the 
point  of  his  saber  struck  the  partition.  And 
Santa  Anna  returned  the  pass  and  by  the  soft 
feel  of  resistance  to  his  point,  knew  that  he 
had  pierced  the  Lieutenant's  shoulder. 

With  an  awful  oath  the  Lieutenant  dropped 
his  saber  and  sank  weakly  against  the  wall. 

And  Captain  Berdejo,  making  a  fierce  rush 
upon  Santa  Anna,  fought  as  only  a  desperate 


Slowly  the  soldiers  of  the  Blues  retreated  before  the 
determined  on5et  of   Santa  Anna,     *  *  * 

Page  148, 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    149 

man  can,  and  fighting,  broke  his  opponent's 
saber. 

But  Santa  Anna  grasped  the  heavy  wine 
bottle  from  the  table  hard  by  and,  with  the  cool 
desperation  of  a  man  who  sees  nothing  but 
death  before  him,  hurled  it  at  his  opponent's 
head,  felling  him  like  an  ox. 

Then  with  a  savage  cry  of  joy,  he  would  have 
turned  again  to  the  corridor,  to  rejoin  his  love, 
but  as  he  faced  the  door,  he  saw  standing  there, 
surrounded  by  his  brilliantly  uniformed  staff, 
the  man  he  most  hated  in  all  the  world — Itur- 
bide. 

"  Buenos  noches,  General  Santa  Anna,"  said 
the  Emperor  smiling.  "  It  seems  we  have  ar- 
rived a  little  late  to  participate  in  this  drama." 
General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  leaned 
weakly  against  the  table,  and  gazed  with  lack- 
luster eyes  at  the  man  who  had  robbed  him  of 
his  sister,  who  had  defeated  his  faithful  Joro- 
chos,  and  who  was  now  about  to  crown  his 
triumph  by  sending  the  woman  he  loved  to  her 
death,  for  it  was  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
a  hardened  soldier  like  the  Emperor  Iturbide 
would  have  any  consideration  for  the  man  who 
had  sought  to  bring  about  the  downfall  of  the 
Empire,  nor  for  the  woman  he  loved. 

"  You  have  just  five  minutes  to  live,"  con- 
tinued Iturbide  in  a  stern  voice.  "  You  have 
dared  to  raise  the  grito  of  revolt  against  the 
man  who  was  your  Emperor — God's  anointed 
— the  Liberator  of  Mexico." 

"  And   the   man   who  dishonored  the  little 


1 5o    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

sister  I  entrusted  to  his  care,"  added  Santa 
Anna,  with  an  awful  look  of  agony  and  a  great 
sadness  in  his  voice. 

Iturbide  started  as  though  he  had  received  a 
blow, — advanced  upon  Santa  Anna,  with  fea- 
tures hard  and  set.  Then  controlling  himself, 
with  an  effort  said  : 

"  General  Santa  Anna,  I  swear  as  God  is  my 
judge,  that  Dahalia's  honor  was  sacred  to  me. 
Religiously  I  kept  the  trust  imposed  upon  me. 
I  loved  her — ah  God, — I  loved  her  better  than 
life  itself.  And  when  she  was  taken  from  me, 
my  heart  was  broken.  While  your  sister  lived 
I  could  never  forget  that  I  was  a  gentleman  of 
Mexico,  and  her  honor  was  dearer  to  me  than 
mine  own." 

"  You  swear  that  this  is  the  truth  as  God  is 
your  judge?"  said  Santa  Anna,  rising  to  his 
feet  with  a  radiant  look  of  joy  upon  his  face. 

"  As  God  is  my  judge,  I  swear  that  this  is 
the  truth,"  said  Iturbide,  raising  his  hand  to 
heaven. 

"  'Tis  all  that  I  could  ask,"  cried  Santa  Anna. 
"And  I  thank  the  good  God  that  He  permits 
me  to  go  to  my  death  with  the  knowledge  that 
the  little  sister  I  loved  was  pure." 

Iturbide  held  out  his  hand.  But  Santa  Anna 
sadly  shook  his  head. 

"  No — no,"  he  said  finally.  "  I  am  no  hypo- 
crite. I  raised  the  grito  of  revolt  against  you 
when  I  saw  that  you  had  driven  out  the  Span- 
ish Viceroys  only  to  create  a  New  World  Em- 
pire  for  yourself.     I   am   a   Mexican   of   the 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    151 

Mexicans,  and  were  I  freed  to-night,  I  should 
rally  my  scattered  troopers  against  you  to- 
morrow, and  do  my  best  to  tear  down  the 
throne  you  have  mounted." 

"  For  Dahalia's  sake  I  would  have  wished  it 
otherwise,"  said  Iturbide,  regretfully.  "  But 
you  pronounce  your  own  death  sentence,  when 
you  declare  against  me.  If  I  would  have  peace 
in  Mexico,  I  must  crush  out  mine  enemies. 
We  might  have  been  friends." 

"  Yes — the  Liberator-General  and  Santa 
Anna  might  have  been  friends,"  was  the  reply. 
"  But  the  Emperor  of  Mexico  and  Santa  Anna 
— never.  So  order  your  soldiers  to  proceed 
with  the  execution.  Excellency,  I   am  ready." 

And  he  threw  back  his  head  proudly  and 
folded  his  arms  upon  his  blood-stained  breast. 

Iturbide  motioned  to  a  squad  of  soldiers  in 
the  corridor  and  they  took  their  position  before 
the  condemned  man,  while  the  Emperor  and 
his  staff  moved  aside. 

At  a  word  from  the  officer  in  charge  they 
slowly  raised  their  muskets. 

Before  the  fatal  word  of  command  could  be 
given,  a  pale,  sorrowful-looking  woman,  with 
disheveled  hair,  and  grief-stricken  features, 
rushed  into  the  room  and  threw  her  arms 
around  Santa  Anna. 

"  Ah,  Dios — Juana — my  darling" —  groaned 
Santa  Anna — "  I  could  have  died  like  a  soldier 
but  now — now  I  am  all  unmanned.  Why  have 
you  come  here  when  you  might  have  escaped 
your  enemies?  " 


152    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

"  I  have  come  to  die  with  the  man  I  loved," 
sobbed  the  woman,  clinging  passionately  to  him 
and  twining  her  soft  arms  around  his  neck. 

Iturbide  turned  towards  them  and  in  a  kindly, 
gentle  tone  said  : 

"  We  are  not  butchers  of  women,  my  lady. 
Nor  is  a  military  execution  a  fitting  sight  for 
your  eyes.     So  if  you  will  leave  us " 

"  Leave  the  man  I  love — the  man  who  is 
about  to  die,  because  he  risked  his  all  for  me  ?  " 
gasped  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza.  "Ah,  no,  no, 
no !  If  we  cannot  live  together,  we  can  at 
least  die  together.  Grant  me  this  one  request, 
Excellency.  I  am  a  Mexican  woman  and  I 
have  asked  no  mercy  for  Santa  Anna  nor  for 
myself.  I  too  know  how  to  die,  and  my  one 
great  desire  is  to  be  permitted  to  die  in  the 
arms  of  the  man  I  love." 

Gently  Santa  Anna  disengaged  her  clasp, 
and  advancing  to  the  Emperor  held  out  his 
hand. 

"  A  few  moments  ago,  I  refused  your  offer  of 
friendship,  because,  as  a  Republican  at  heart,  I 
could  not  tolerate  a  Mexican  Emperor.  But 
you  have  offered  life  and  liberty  to  the  one 
woman  in  all  the  world  to  me.  I  thank  you. 
I  staked  my  all  in  this  game  of  life  and  death 
and  I  have  lost.  I  am  ready  to  pay  the  reckon- 
ing. Have  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza  removed 
and  let  the  execution  proceed." 

And  with  a  great  effort  he  turned  his  back 
upon  her. 

She  fell  upon  her  knees  before  the  Emperor 


Compliments  of  Emperor  Iturbide.    153 

Iturbide,  and    seizing  his  hand,  sobbed    pite- 
ously. 

"  Ah,  Excellency — do  not  let  them  take  me 
from  him — let  us  die  together — it  is  all  I  ask 
— it  is  all  I  ask." 

And  she  fainted. 

Gently  they  bore  her  from  the  room  and 
Santa  Anna  turned  to  Iturbide  with  an  inclina- 
tion of  the  head,  saying  softly  : 

"  I  thank  your  Excellency." 

Iturbide  looked  at  him  with  admiration,  and 
looking  saw  upon  his  face  the  look  of  the  dead 
Dahalia, — the  look  of  the  little  woman  who 
had  drank  of  the  death  potion  intended  for 
her  Emperor. 

And  seeing  the  likeness  of  the  dead  sister  in 
the  living  brother,  his  heart  was  heavy  with 
grief  and  he  groaned  : 

"  Ah,  no,  no, — I  cannot  do  it — I  cannot  do 
it. —  Dahalia  pleads  with  me  to  spare  you. 
Perhaps  I  am  preparing  the  downfall  of  the 
Empire  I  have  builded — perhaps  I  am  setting 
free  the  man  who  will  foment  rebellion  and 
civil  war  in  Mexico.  But  for  her  sake  I  will 
take  the  chance.  General  Antonio  Lopez  de 
Santa  Anna,  you  are  free — free  to  depart  with 
the  woman  you  love." 

Santa  Anna  grasped  Iturbide's  hand  and 
gently  raised  it  to  his  lips. 

"Again  I  thank  your  Excellency,"  he  said, 
"but  I  am  in  duty-bound,  as  a  gentleman  of 
Mexico,  to  tell  you  that,  when  I  return  to  the 
Southland,  my  first  act  will  be  to  rally  to  my 


154    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

banners  the  remnant  of  my  army,  and  to  de- 
clare against  the  Empire,  since  clearer  to  Santa 
Anna  than  his  life  and  even  his  love  is  Mexico, 
his  country.  Yet  perhaps  may  come  that  time 
when  opportunity  will  be  given  to  General 
Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna  to  remember 
that  the  Emperor  Iturbide  gave  him  his  life 
and  his  love,  and  he  will  not  forget." 

For  answer  the  Emperor  pointed  to  the  door. 

And  Santa  Anna  passed  through  the  bril- 
liantly-uniformed suite  of  officers — to  liberty — 
and  to  the  woman  he  loved. 


Epilogue.  155 


EPILOGUE. 
A. 

A  NEW  moon  broke  through  the  nebulosity 
of  the  southern  sky  and  cast  its  gentle,  yellow 
light  upon  the  long,  low  stretch  of  alkali  desert. 

The  silence  of  the  night  prevailed  unbroken. 

To  the  north,  out  of  the  low-lying  mist 
which  hovered  like  a  dense  pall  over  the  low- 
lands, petrous  Popocatapetl  and  Iztaccihuatl, — 
gruesome,  gray  phantasms  of  the  night — 
loomed  out  of  the  darkness. 

Through  the  veil  of  mist,  in  the  south,  a  par- 
aselene sky  caught  out  of  the  great  desert  the 
shades  of  the  waning  night,  alternating  with 
fitful,  phosphorescent  strands  of  green  and  gold, 
orange  and  vermilion,  in  the  east, — heralds  of 
the  dawning  day. 

As  the  gray  of  early  morning  slowly  drove 
back  the  blackish  gloom,  amorphous  shadows 
of  the  night  became  tangible  realities  of  the 
day,  and  far  as  eye  could  see  was  one  huge 
conglutination  of  human  bodies,  horses  and 
ordnance. 

In  the  glister  of  the  fine  white  alkali,  was  gluey 
red  crassament  which  had  formed  a  thick  vis- 
cous pool. 

Under  the  battered  flanges  of  a  field-gun,  a 


156    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

group  of  fierce  Jorochos  were  sleeping  their 
last  sleep,  their  faces  ghastly,  drawn,  their  jaws 
fallen,  their  teeth  gleaming  white,  their  muti- 
lated bodies  drenched  in  the  fluxion  of  their 
own  blood.  The  bronzed,  ugly  faces  with  con- 
tracted foreheads,  beady,  bulging  eyes,  high 
cheekbones  and  square,  massive  animal  jaws, 
were  not  pleasant  to  look  upon  in  death. 

Near  them,  blood-soaked,  lay  a  troop  of  the 
Emperor's  dragoons,  under  and  alongside  the 
stiffening  bodies  of  their  horses, — riders  and 
steeds  shot  down  in  the  charge  by  the  last  fire 
from  the  Jorocho  battery,  which  had  finally 
succumbed  to  superior  numbers,  but  had  sur- 
rendered only  to  King  Death. 

Between  the  two  groups  and  beside  a  great 
wooden  crucifix  lay  a  squat,  pitiful  figure,  in 
the  long,  black  robe  of  a  Jesuit  father.  The 
position  of  the  priest  indicated  that  he  had 
been  in  command  of  the  Jorocho  battery,  and 
he  had  evidently  been  cut  down  by  the  charg- 
ing dragoons  when  rallying  his  men  around  the 
cross  of  Christ.  There  was  a  great  gash  across 
the  man's  forehead,  from  which  a  little  red 
stream  had  trickled  over  his  ecchymotic  face, 
forming  a  dark  red  congelation.  The  body  of 
a  dapple-gray  cavalry  horse  had  fallen  across 
the  man's  left  arm,  breaking  it  at  the  bend  of 
the  elbow. 

Through  the  mist  broke  the  red  blaze  of  the 
rising  sun,  and  lighted  the  gruesome  repast  of 
the  Sopilotes,  great  black  scavengers,  who 
foraged   from   body  to   body  with  a  jubilant, 


Epilogue.  157 

"  Caw,  caw,  caw — caw,  caw,  caw,"  plucking  and 
tearing  at  the  soft,  yielding  flesh  of  their  silent 
prey,  and  holding  the  quivering  red  tid-bits 
aloft  in  blood-reddened  claws,  while  they  drove 
their  sharp,  razor-like  beaks  into  eye  or  cheek 
to  further  glut  and  gorge  their  carrion-swelled 
bodies.  And  so  from  group  to  group,  from 
rebel  Jorocho  to  royal  dragoon,  went  the  car- 
rion vultures,  performing  well  their  gruesome 
task,  and  leaving,  instead  of  the  bronzed, 
battle-scarred  faces,  smooth,  eburnean,  white, 
grinning  skulls  shining  in  the  sunlight  of  the 
early  morning.  And  so  from  group  to  group 
went  the  carrion  vultures,  until  they  came  at 
last  to  the  blood-shrouded  group  under  the 
battered  flanges  of  the  field  gun. 

The  sudden  descent  of  the  carrion  vultures 
startled  from  under  the  body  of  the  priest  a 
huge  rattlesnake,  which,  rearing  itself  from  the 
encrimsoned  pool  where  it  had  lain,  coiled 
itself  as  though  for  a  spring,  hissing  angrily  all 
the  while,  then  sullenly  glided  off  to  a  more 
quiet  retreat  near  some  neighboring  cacti. 
Likewise  fled  from  the  stark  and  silent  dead  a 
body  of  red  ants  which  had  been  attracted  to 
the  group  by  the  putrescent  effluvium  given 
off  from  the  bodies  already  beginning  to  rot  in 
the  sunlight. 

One  huge,  black  vulture,  so  swollen  from 
carnal  repast  as  to  make  his  movements  clumsy, 
settled  heavily  on  the  head  of  the  priest  and 
began  to  peck  slowly  at  the  gash  upon  the 
forehead,  whereupon  the  blood  began  to  trickle 


158    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

afresh  down  the  ecchymotic,  swollen  face.  A 
nervous  tremor  shook  the  body  of  the  priest 
and  the  muscles  of  his  face  worked  convulsive- 
ly. Something  between  a  sob  and  a  hiccough 
came  from  the  prostrate  form,  and  a  red-white 
foam  flecked  the  blanched  lips.  The  huge 
carrion  vulture  sank  a  great  claw  into  the 
priest's  right  eye,  tearing  the  ball  and  crushing 
it  back  into  the  socket. 

With  an  awful  groan  and  a  sob  the  priest 
raised  his  right  arm,  and  the  carrion  bird  of 
prey  flapped  its  great  black  wings,  essaying  to 
fly,  but,  overweighted  by  its  glut  of  blood  and 
flesh,  it  toppled  down  and  off  the  swollen  face, 
and  the  right  hand  of  the  pain-maddened  man 
closed  around  the  great  black  neck,  and  crushed 
and  ground  and  tore,  until  the  hand  retained 
in  its  fierce  clasp  only  a  soft,  pulpy  mass  of 
quivering  flesh  and  warm  red  blood, 

Sobbing  and  hiccoughing,  the  priest  shook 
off  the  slimy,  oozy,  pulpy  mass,  and  with  an 
effort  carried  his  right  hand,  blood-soaked 
and  gluey  wet,  to  the  maimed,  sightless  eye- 
ball, which  burned  and  ached  and  bled,  and 
did  more  to  bring  the  man  to  consciousness  by 
the  very  exquisite  pang  of  pain  than  aught  else 
could  have  done.  He  attempted  to  raise  him- 
self upon  his  elbow,  but  the  body  of  the  dapple- 
gray  held  his  limp  left  arm  immobile.  He  ex- 
erted himself,  more  by  instinct  than  by  any 
consciousness  of  what  he  was  doing,  to  release 
the  injured  limb  from  the  vise  which  held  it 
down.     It  yielded  a  little,  but  the  effort  gave 


Epilogue.  159 

him  a  thrill  of  awful  agony  and  he  shrieked 
aloud.  Again  he  sought  to  release  the  arm 
from  the  sickening  weight  which  held  it,  and 
this  time  succeeded,  but  from  very  agony  fell 
back  weak  and  fainting.  For  a  long  time  he 
lay  silent,  his  body  quivering  from  an  occa- 
sional hiccoughing. 

When  at  last  he  came  again  to  himself  the 
sun  was  a  fiery  ball  of  red  directly  overhead,  and 
its  fierce  heat  beat  upon  his  unprotected  head, 
overpowering  his  reason  with  frenetic  scotomy. 
He  essayed  to  rise,  but  paraplegy  held  him 
powerless  for  a  long  time.  He  seemed  no 
longer  a  human  being,  but  a  bloody,  raging, 
nameless  thing. 

Again  and  again  he  essayed  to  rise  and  again 
and  again  fell  back. 

"  God  Almighty  ! — God  Almighty  ! — God 
Almighty  !  "  he  cried  again  and  again. 

After  awhile  he  dragged  himself  with  an  effort 
a  few  paces  to  where  the  blood-red  crucifix  lay 
in  the  white  alkali  of  the  desert.  He  caught 
the  crucifix  to  him  and  kissed  it  again  and 
again,  babbling  all  the  while  in  his  delirium — 
babbling  of  the  Church,  babbling  of  Mexico, 
babbling  of  the  woman  he  loved. 

He  was  quite  mad,  poor  priest ;  crazed  by 
the  pitiless  heat  which  seethed  from  the  caldron 
overhead ;  crazed  by  the  pain  in  his  sightless, 
pulpy  eye  ;  crazed  by  the  parched,  swollen  lips 
and  the  dried,  parchment-like  tongue  which 
protruded  from  his  mouth,  a  shapeless  red  thing 
like  a  piece  of  dried  leather. 


160    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

With  his  uninjured  eye  he  made  out  the  still 
bleeding,  bruised  body  of  the  carrion  bird  of 
prey,  and  caught  it  up  with  his  right  hand, 
squeezing  out  the  viscous  red  ooze  upon  his 
parched  lips  and  tongue,  and  drawing  in  the 
nauseous  effluence  with  little  chuckling  gasps 
of  glee.  At  last,  when  he  had  finished  his 
loathsome  draught,  he  flung  the  shapeless  thing 
from  him  and  looked  long  and  earnestly  to  the 
north.  Nothing  met  his  eye  but  the  corse- 
strewn  stretch  of  alkali,  with  its  covering  of 
dead  dragoons,  dead  Jorochos,  dead  horses  and 
broken  gun  carriages. 

Everything  was  still  and  silent,  on  every 
side,  save  the  feasting  sopilotes,  circling  here 
and  there  with  incessant,  rancorous, 

"  Caw,  caw,  caw, — caw,  caw,  caw." 

He  turned  himself  with  an  effort  to  the 
south,  and  looked  long  into  vacancy,  scanning 
the  desert  from  zenith  to  horizon,  but  no  single 
living  thing  except  the  sopilotes  could  be  seen, 
and  he  groaned  aloud  with  an  awful  sense  of 
loneliness  and  abandonment.  Nearer  sounded 
the  never-ceasing, 

"  Caw,  caw,  caw, — caw,  caw,  caw," 
and  the  priest  shuddered  as  he  thought  of  the 
shapeless   dead    thing   whose    blood    he    had 
drained. 

Gradually  came  to  him  a  fixed  idea,  which 
began  to  shape  itself  into  words,  and  he  mur- 
mured over  and  over  again  : 

"  She  is  there,  —  she  is  there,  —  she  is 
there " 


Epilogue.  161 

Then  after  a  while  : 

"  God  Almighty,  good  God,  merciful  God 
Almighty, — give  me  strength  to  see  her  once — 
once  again  before  I  die.'' 

And  with  an  almost  superhuman  effort,  his 
swollen  lips  compressed,  his  jaw  firmly  set,  he 
began  to  drag  himself  with  his  right  arm  over 
the  silent  hillocks  of  the  dead,  towards  the 
south,  babbling  all  the  while. 
11 


162    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


EPILOGUE. 

B. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  woman  in  a  stylish  riding- 
habit,  mounted  upon  a  dapple  gray,  and  a 
soldierly-looking,  handsome  man,  in  a  uniform 
of  green  and  gold,  upon  a  great  war-horse, 
were  riding  upon  that  part  of  the  road  to  Vera 
Cruz,  lying  to  the  north. 

Twilight  was  just  setting  in  as  they  drew 
near  the  hacienda  of  Mango  de  Clavo, — the 
hereditary  estate  of  the  Santa  Annas.  The 
soil  was  rich  and  fertile, — great  herds  of  fat, 
sleek-looking  cattle  browsed  through  the  pas- 
turage and  tropical  undergrowth,  while  wiry, 
well-groomed  horses,  startled  at  the  approach 
of  the  intruders,  would  dash  through  the  forest 
and  along  the  shores  of  the  gulf,  pursued  by 
the  bronzed  vacqueros  whose  care  it  was  to 
watch  them. 

As  the  evening  drew  on,  they  began  to  pass 
the  large  granaries  and  storehouses  of  the 
estate.  Exterior  to  these  was  a  huge  fortified 
wall,  garrisoned  by  armed  retainers.  Near  the 
granaries  were  a  few  jacals,  around  which 
stood  the  Zaragates  and  Gauchinangos,  or 
peon  retainers,  who  rent  the  air  with  cries  of 
joy  at  their  beloved  master's  homecoming. 

At  last  the  master  of  Mango  de  Clavo  and 


Epilogue.  163 

his  fair  companion  came  to  the  great  drive- 
way, leading  to  the  mansion  house,  the  whole 
length  of  which,  on  either  side,  was  lined  with 
Jorocho  cavalrymen — bronzed,  intrepid,  wiry, 
wild-eyed  little  men,  who  seldom  slept.  For 
they  were  the  Cossack  lancers  of  the  South, 
who  in  the  thick  of  battle  were  on  and  off 
their  horses,  now  thrusting  with  their  lances, 
now  performing  miracles  of  sharpshooting, 
with  their  carbines,  now  wading  over  the  blood- 
stained batteries  they  had  swept  aside  like 
chaff,  to  perform  new  wonders  in  the  resistless 
rush  against  the  enemy. 

And  so,  on  this  particular  evening,  when 
they  had  assembled  to  greet  their  chieftain, 
General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  and 
the  woman  for  love  of  whom  he  had  sacrificed 
his  chosen  ones,  their  impatient  ponies  pawed 
the  ground,  to  the  accompaniment  of  their  sil- 
ver trappings,  and  the  little  group  of  fierce, 
savage-looking  officers,  sat  like  marionettes  in 
their  saddles — behind  them  the  fierce  Jorochos, 
every  lance  at  an  angle,  every  carbine  across 
the  crupper,  every  bearskin  shako  jauntily  set, 
every  bristling  pair  of  mustaches  stiffened  with 
pride. 

And  as  he  saw  once  more  the  devoted  band, 
which  he  had  thought  lost  to  him  forever,  a 
feeling  of  sadness  came  upon  Santa  Anna,  and 
there  was  moisture  in  his  eyes.  But  as  he 
looked  at  the  beautiful  woman  at  his  side,  his 
grief  gave  way  to  happiness,  and  he  told  him- 
self that  for  the  love  of  such  a  woman  he  would 


164    Iturbidc,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 

send  this  remnant  of  his  dear  army  to  the  gates 
of  hell. 

And  when  they  had  come  to  the  great  man- 
sion, General  Santa  Anna  took  his  lady's  hand, 
and  after  assisting  her  to  dismount,  led  her 
into  the  patio  of  Mango  de  Clavo,  where  a 
great  banquet  was  spread  for  the  homecoming 
of  master  and  mistress. 

The  dinner  was  a  most  elaborate  one.  Olla 
podrida  in  great  silver  bowls,  juicy  tender  joints 
on  platters  of  Dresden  china,  steaming  chili 
con  carne,  dainty  entrees,  freshest  of  pineapples, 
and  strawberries  from  the  plantation,  inter- 
spersed with  wines  rich  and  varied,  and  followed 
by  coffee  and  cigarros. 

And  when  the  toasts  were  drunk,  Santa  Anna, 
looking  at  the  gallant  officers  around  the  festal 
board  proposed  : 

"  The  most  beautiful  lady  in  all  the  land  !  " 

And  the  officers  with  their  eyes  upon  the 
lady  Juana  la  Garza  echoed  right  heartily  : 

"  The  most  beautiful  lady  in  all  the  land  !  " 

And  the  night  wore  on  apace — a  night  of 
feasting  and  revelry.  And  on  the  stroke  of 
twelve  appeared  in  the  doorway  two  dust-be- 
spattered troopers,  supporting  between  them 
an  abject,  gaunt,  pitiful-looking  figure,  in  a 
black  cassock,  a  great  cut  upon  his  forehead, 
and  the  ashen  hue  of  death  upon  his  face,  his 
right  eye  a  sightless  pulp,  his  left  arm  limp  and 
helpless  by  his  side,  a  figure  more  thing  than 
man. 

The  priest  Rafael  Aristo ! 


Epilogue.  165 

Through  the  startled  group  of  officers  they 
led  him,  and  never  paused  until  they  had  set 
him  gently  in  a  chair  near  General  Santa  Anna. 

"  Rafael  Aristo  !  "  gasped  the  lady  Juana  la 
Garza. 

"  Yes — Rafael — Aristo  " —  said  the  priest 
with  a  great  effort — "  Rafael  Aristo, — who  was 
left  last  night  for  dead  upon  the  battlefield. 
But  a  merciful  God — gave  me  strength — to  live 
— to  look  once  more  upon  the  one  woman — in  all 
the  world — to  me — and  to  know  that  she  will 
be  happy.  I  have  dragged  my  poor,  maimed 
body — along  the  alkali  desert,  all  this  day, — 
until  these  faithful  ones — found  me.  Some- 
thing told  me  that  my  mission  had  not  been — 
fruitless — that  Santa  Anna  would  be  in  time — 
and  I — I  could  not  bear  to  die — my  children — 
without  giving  you — the  blessing  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  That  blessing  I  now  pronounce — 
upon  this  man  and  this  woman — for  I  am  once 
more  a  priest  of  the  Holy  Church — and  I  think 
the  good  God  will  pardon  me — if  I  was  mis- 
taken in  seeking  what  other  men  have  sought 
— I  think  He  will  pardon  me,  I  say — because  I 
have  given  my  life — that  the  woman  I  loved 
might  live — and  be  happy — and  be  happy — 
ah  God — I  am  coming — I  am  coming — the 
Church — the  Church  of  Rome — Mexico." 

His  head  fell  back  ;  a  great  stream  of  blood 
issued  from  his  lips  and  so  he  died. 

And  the  lady  Juana  la  Garza,  kneeling  be- 
side him,  pressed  a  gentle  kiss  upon  the  pallid, 
death-dampened  brow. 


i66    Iturbide,  A  Soldier  of  Mexico. 


Then  turning,  saw  her 
herself 


lover  standing  near, 


and  throwing  herself  into  his  outstretched 
arms,  buried  her  face  upon  his  great  chest  and 
wept  like  a  little  child. 


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